Changes are coming for the Boston Celtics.
According to ESPN’s Senior NBA Insider Shams Charania, the Boston Celtics are being sold to William Chisholm, co-founder of the Symphony Technology Group, for a whopping $6.1 billion dollars.
Chisholm is from Georgetown, Massachusetts and grew up as a “die-hard Celtics fan” (via BusinessWire). He is a Dartmouth College graduate and earned his MBA at the University of Pennsylvania.
“I bleed green, I love the Celtics. When opportunity came up, I couldn’t pass it up. Wyc [Grousbeck] has done an incredible job. So why would you mess that up? I’ve had a couple of sitdowns with Brad [Stevens] and it’s been about aligning our goals, and extending the window of this team,” Chisholm said in a brief interview.
With new ownership coming in this now raises the question of Grousbeck’s involvement moving forward. He’s been the majority owner of the team after he and Boston Basketball Partners L.L.C purchased the team for $360 million back in 2002.
According to Charania, Grousbeck is expected to remain as CEO and Governor of the team through the 2027-2028 season.
“Chisholm asked me to run the team as CEO and Governor for the first three years, and stay on as his partner, and I am glad to do so,” Grousbeck said in a statement to ESPN.
Grousbeck spoke publicly on the team’s current state and if changes are on the way. He insists that the notion of the hefty luxury tax the team currently pays is not the reason for future changes, but rather it is the strict basketball penalties the league created with the new CBA in 2023.
The Celtics sale of $6.1 billion marks the highest sum of a North American sports franchise since the sale of the Washington Commanders ($6.05 billion) in 2023. With the Celtics sale now in the works, this gives the NBA the green light to focus on expansion of the league.
Celia’s thoughts:
Personally, my first initial thought was simple – the team needs to win this year.
Just a few days ago Mannix reported on 98.5 the Sports Hub that new ownership could spell changes for the Celtics roster if they do not win the title this year. No pressure, right? They possess the most expensive roster in the league – which does concern me for the future of the roster.
Chisholm’s group is a private equity group. To my understanding (do not take my word for this), a PE group usually means more premeditated approaches towards finances and focus on bringing in as much money as possible. The Celtics do not own the TD Garden so this already puts them at a disadvantage in terms of accumulating revenue on non-game days.
It does help that Chisholm is a Celtics fan. The Boston Globe reports that Chisholm has “encyclopedic knowledge” of the team, which bodes well for understanding what it means to be a Celtics supporter and for such a passionate fanbase.
Changes will be coming regardless. Whether they are smaller or on the larger scale is to be determined. Could this mean the beginning of cutting payroll? What Celtics are staying, and who may be on their way out? Does new ownership mean the Celtics get their own building? There are many questions left to be answered – and a great portion of them will be answered whether the C’s raise their 19th banner this upcoming June or not.
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