Celtics Sold for Highest Price in Sports History

A group led by Bill Chisholm, managing partner at Symphony Technology Group, has agreed to purchase the Boston Celtics for a valuation of $6.1 billion, sources told ESPN's Shams Charania.

That price would surpass the $6.05 billion price a group led by Josh Harris paid to buy the NFL's Washington Commanders in 2023 as the most paid for a franchise in North American sports history, and would easily surpass the record number for the control stake of an NBA team, which was set two years ago when Mat Ishbia bought the Phoenix Suns for $4 billion.

A Massachusetts native and graduate of Dartmouth College and Penn's Wharton School of business, Chisholm is the managing partner of California-based Symphony Technology Group. The new ownership group also includes Boston business leaders Rob Hale, who is a current Celtics shareholder, and Bruce Beal Jr.

The sale agreement was announced Thursday, but terms were not disclosed.

"This process to buy the team started just under 50 years ago when I had my 7th birthday and attended a game at the old Boston Garden," Chisholm told Charania. "I was hooked ever since. I've been a rabid fan ever since. I bleed green. I love the Celtics. When this opportunity came up, I couldn't pass it up. Wyc has done an incredible job running this franchise. So why would you mess that up? The team is in a great place right now, and I'm very sensitive to that. Wyc, Brad (Stevens) and Joe (Mazzulla) have done amazing jobs and that's all goodness that we want to continue."

The Celtics -- who surpassed their forever rivals, the Los Angeles Lakers, with their 18th NBA title last June when they beat the Dallas Mavericks in five games in the NBA Finals -- began the sale process shortly thereafter, when the team's controlling ownership group -- Boston Basketball Partners, LLC, a group led by co-owners Wyc Grousbeck and Steve Pagliuca since 2002 -- stunned the basketball world by announcing it would be selling the controlling stake in the franchise after more than two decades of stable ownership of one of the most iconic franchises in North American sports.

Grousbeck, whose family leads the ownership group that bought the team in 2002 for $360 million, said Chisholm asked him to stay on as CEO and governor for the next three seasons, "and I am glad to do so."

"We hoped from the beginning to find the right person with the resources and commitment to win banners, and being a great person," Grousbeck told Charania. "Bill checks every box for us. I have always been a consultant and have had final say here with the Celtics since the family bought into the team, and that will continue for the next three years and we will transition."

The agreement calls for a two-part sale in which Chisholm would acquire at least 51% of the team upon approval by the NBA's board of governors, which could come as soon as this summer. Current owners would have the option to retain the remainder of their shares until 2028, when they would be sold at a price that could be up to 20% higher, based on a formula determined by league revenue growth.

"My approach is to win and raise banners," Chisholm told Charania. "That's in the near term and the long term. I've had a couple of sit-downs with Brad and it's been about aligning our goals, and extending the window of this team. The plans that Wyc and Brad have laid out make perfect sense to me."

Pagliuca acknowledged the sale Thursday in a statement posted to social media, saying he made a strong push to purchase the Celtics from the Grousbeck family and that he is "saddened to find out that we have not been selected in the process."

Sources told Charania that Grousbeck and Pagliuca exchanged "warm" texts on Thursday.

During a conference call with reporters in November after Boston visited the White House to celebrate its title, Grousbeck reiterated the plan for him to remain in charge after the sale, and through 2028.

Timing aside, what isn't in dispute is that for the first time in a generation, the Celtics are changing hands, with Chisholm, who has made his fortune in private equity, taking over a team that not only is one of the favorites to repeat as champions, but also has massive questions ahead of it this summer.

Boston is on pace to become the first team in NBA history to surpass $500 million in combined payroll and luxury tax payments next season, as Jayson Tatum's supermax extension officially comes online at the same time as the final steps of the current collective bargaining agreement come online, making it prohibitively expensive to keep a team like this together for the long term.

In the meantime, however, the Celtics are one of the favorites to win the title this season, as they hope to become the first team to repeat as champions since the 2017-18 Golden State Warriors.

"With the new collective bargaining agreement, it puts all of the basketball issues at a premium," Grousbeck told Charania. "You have to be brilliant and lucky to run a team successfully. We have that in Brad. Brad is the executive of the year."

The Celtics have won an NBA record 18 NBA titles -- trailing only the New York Yankees (27) and Montreal Canadiens (24) among all North American professional sports leagues.

Chisholm will attend games with his wife in April.

"It's been emotional for me since we got this done," Chisholm told Charania. "As a family, we listened to Johnny Most, the old voice of Celtics, describing the Celtics and one of his calls. ... We just listened to him and had a great dinner (Wednesday) night. It's a dream come true. I have had to pinch myself. This is the best sports franchise in the world -- not just the United States and not just basketball. It's the winningest team in the U.S. and the quality of what's here is unmatched. I think about the potential and the legacy here, and I personally feel like I got a bargain.

"I'm a fan. That's the most important thing. I bleed green. I'm up for the challenge."

The Celtics' sale also could have an impact on the potential timeline for NBA expansion. For months, sources have said that process wouldn't move forward until there was clarity on Boston's situation, and where this sale price wound up. Now that there is clarity -- and at this kind of number -- the league could revisit that timeline, sources said.