Celtics Ownership Group Announces Intention To Sell All Shares

The Celtics and Derrick White reportedly agreed to a monster contract extension Monday, but that wasn’t the biggest news for the franchise on the afternoon.

Twenty-six minutes after ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reported on White’s new deal in Boston, the NBA insider revealed the Celtics’ majority ownership group — which is led by Wyc Grousbeck — is planning to make the franchise available for sale. The Boston Globe’s Adam Himmelsbach promptly issued a follow-up report with details on the situation.

“According to a league source, Celtics majority owner Wyc Grousbeck is looking to sell his stake in the team, as @wojespn reported,” Himmelsbach posted to X. “But this potential sale is not expected to include the entire investment group that purchased the team in 2002.”

The Celtics themselves also issued a statement after Wojnarowski’s report.

“Boston Basketball Partners L.L.C., the ownership group of the Boston Celtics, announced today its intention to sell all the shares of the team,” the statement read. “The controlling family of the ownership group, after considerable thought and internal discussion, has decided to sell the team for estate and family planning considerations.

“The managing board of the ownership group expects to sell a majority interest in 2024 or early 2025, with the balance closing in 2028, and expects Wyc Grousbeck to remain as the Governor of the team until the second closing in 2028.”

Last October, Forbes listed the Celtics as the league’s fourth-most valuable franchise at $4.7 billion. Boston went on to win the NBA championship following the estimation, which preceded the league’s new TV deals.