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A new report claims the sale of the Boston Celtics is happening because of a disagreement between the team’s owners, Irving Grousbeck and his son Wyc Grousbeck.
It was shockingly announced earlier this summer that despite the Boston Celtics winning their 18th NBA championship just a few weeks prior, the team was being put up for sale.
In the epitome of “rich people problems,” the Grousbecks are reportedly beefing over how much money the Celtics have been and will be spending on their roster.
Last season, Boston spent a record amount of money. The Celtics set a record by signing Jaylen Brown to a five-year, $285.4 million extension – the largest contract in NBA history at the time.
That was until the Celtics went and signed Jayson Tatum to a five-year, $315 million contract extension – the new record.
In addition to those deals, 63-year-old Wyc Grousbeck, who reportedly owns three percent of the team and is the governor of the Celtics, also signed Jrue Holiday (four years, $134.4 million), Derrick White (four years, $118 million), Kristaps Porzingis (two years, $60 million), Sam Hauser (four years, $45 million), and Payton Pritchard (four years, $30 million) to large contract extensions since July 2023.
That means that, as things currently stand, the reigning NBA Champions will lose around $80 million in the 2024-25 season.
90-year-old Irving Grousbeck, who owns around 20 percent of the team, reportedly has taken issue with the huge spending spree. Wyc Grousbeck denies that is the reason for the sale.
“There has not been a capital call from ownership, or any additional investment of any kind, in the 22 years since Boston Basketball Partners bought the team and we don’t anticipate there being one,” he told the New York Post.
ESPN reports that with $225 million committed in salary for the 2025-26 season, it means the Celtics’ luxury tax bill will be an estimated $280 million.
That would put the Boston Celtics’ total payroll cost at $513 million for the 2025-26 season, should nothing change. They will also be subject to draft pick penalties and heavy restrictions on roster movement, Front Office Sports reports.
The Grousbeck’s ownership group, Boston Basketball Partners LLC, purchased the Celtics for $360 million in 2003. Forbes currently has the team valued at $4.7 billion. The Grousbecks are reportedly looking to sell the team for $6 billion.