BOSTON — The bidding process for the Celtics could feature one of the wealthiest men on Earth.
Jeff Bezos, the billionaire founder of Amazon, has been rumored as a potential buyer for Boston’s storied NBA franchise, according to The Ringer’s Bill Simmons.
“In the last few days, there’s been some, I think, legitimate buzz about Jeff Bezos buying the Celtics, and I think it’s real,” Simmons said on an episode of his podcast released Monday. “I think he’s going to be one of the suitors. … I think it’s real that he’s potentially in the mix for this.”
Simmons said he’s heard the NBA wants the Celtics to fetch a purchase price of $6 billion, which would shatter the league’s current record for the sale of a franchise (Mat Ishbia paid $4 billion for the Phoenix Suns in 2023).
“They want the $6 billion because they want expansion teams in Seattle and Vegas,” Simmons said. “… They want to get $6 billion apiece for the two franchises for expansion, which would mean a check for $400 million to every NBA owner — all 30. They’re trying to establish a price with this Celtics team.”
The latest estimate from Forbes pegged the Celtics’ value at $4.7 billion. But that was last October, before a dominant season and an 18th NBA championship that surely boosted the team’s price tag.
Within weeks of Boston’s championship parade, Wyc Grousbeck announced his family would be selling its controlling stake in the Celtics for “estate and family planning purposes.” The team intends to complete the sale in two parts: a majority interest by early 2025 and the remaining shares in 2028, with Grousbeck remaining on as governor until the latter is finalized.
The Celtics later retained BDT & MSD Partners and J.P. Morgan as co-advisors for the sale. It’s unclear if any suitors have officially made offers for the franchise.
Grousbeck and his partners bought the Celtics for $360 million in 2002, the same year John Henry, Tom Werner, Larry Lucchino and Co. bought the Red Sox. No major Boston sports franchise has changed ownership since.
The most prominent of Grousbeck’s partners, Celtics co-owner and managing partner Steve Pagliuca, is the only individual who’s publicly announced plans to submit a bid for the franchise. The New York Post earlier this month reported Henry’s Fenway Sports Group also is “seriously considering” attempting to buy the Celtics in conjunction with RedBird Capital Partners.
Bezos certainly has deep enough pockets to make a compelling offer if he so chooses. The 60-year-old business titan is the world’s second-richest individual, per Forbes, with an estimated net worth of $195.8 billion. Bezos has made overtures into the sports ownership world in recent years, reportedly submitting a bid for the Washington Commanders before the NFL franchise was sold to a group led by Josh Harris, who also owns teams in the NBA (Philadelphia 76ers) and NHL (New Jersey Devils).
Beyond the price of the franchise itself, the Celtics’ next owner(s) also will need to be willing to shell out for a championship-winning roster that projects to be the most expensive in NBA history next season. Following offseason extensions for Jayson Tatum and Derrick White, the cost for Boston’s 2025-26 roster could exceed $500 million between player salaries and luxury tax penalties.
Story by Zack Cox, Boston Herald via Tribune Content Agency
