For many decades, plenty of pundits have erroneously claimed that sports franchise sale prices cannot rise any higher. The record-setting, $6.1 billion sale of the Celtics to a group led by private equity executive Bill Chisholm again puts the maxim of ever-rising team values to the test.
The two-stage Celtics deal, while containing no shortage of hurt feelings, also reveals the complex nuances of several industry trends colliding at once.
In just beating out the 2023 sale of the Commanders for $6.05 billion, the Boston deal again shows the particular scarcity of major league franchises, as well as the deep appeal of marquee teams such as the Celtics and Commanders to high-net-worth individuals. The agreement in Boston is also fundamentally underpinned by soaring NBA media-rights revenue as the league last summer more than doubled its national-level bounty with $77 billion worth of new deals with Amazon, ESPN, and NBC Sports.
“We expected a big number, obviously now have it, and I think this price certainly could be a motivating factor for other team owners that may be approaching similar decision points,” as current Celtics governor Wyc Grousbeck and his partners, Michael Rueda, partner and head of the U.S. sports and entertainment practice group at the Withers law firm, tells Front Office Sports. “There’s clearly no shortage in investor groups looking to get in and acquire teams. … This also likely will be an influence on an expansion process and what it takes to get access into the league, which is essentially what expansion offers.”
There are, however, elements where the Celtics deal could still represent an overpay. The agreement notably does not include the TD Garden, the team’s home arena but a venue owned and controlled by Delaware North, also the owner of the NHL’s Bruins. The Celtics have a lease there through the 2035–2036 season, but a long-term solution will need to be determined there—a situation that could ultimately result in a new arena.
The team also has just a minority equity interest in regional sports network NBC Sports Boston, and like every other pro franchise, is trying to navigate historic levels of disruption across that part of the media business.
Influence Out West?
Ultimately, MLB’s Dodgers—another marquee team across North American pro sports—could be a critical lesson for Chisholm and his partners. When the Mark Walter–led Guggenheim Baseball Management bought the club in 2012 out of bankruptcy for a then-record $2.15 billion, the deal was also considered a significant overpay.
Walter and his partners, beating out rival bidders by several hundred million dollars, were inheriting a Dodger Stadium that needed significant upgrades, as well as a club that hadn’t won a World Series since 1988 and had been previously consumed by the continued drama surrounding former club owners Frank and Jamie McCourt.
Now, that $2.15 billion purchase price seems like an absolute bargain given the Dodgers’ estimated value of nearly triple that original figure and the club’s growing economic dominance over the rest of the league.
The Celtics, the league’s defending champions, are hardly in the type of state the Dodgers were in 2012. The MLB club, however, is now flexing its might with unprecedented strength—combining big-market resources with smaller-market scrappiness—and offers a template for Chisholm and the Celtics.
