The Boston Celtics won their record 18th NBA title this year, one more than their longtime rival, the Los Angeles Lakers. Boston now has another record in its sights—the most expensive NBA team ever sold, and potentially the most expensive team across all sports.
A document prepared for prospective buyers outlines what factors may go into the eventual final price.
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In June, lead owner Wyc Grousbeck hired a pair of banks, BDT & MSD and JPMorgan Chase, to sell the franchise for estate purposes, with a plan for him to run the team until 2028. The richest price ever paid for an NBA team was $4 billion for the Phoenix Suns, and Josh Harris set the mark in all sports last year at $6.05 billion for the NFL’s Washington Commanders.
The Celtics are an incredible brand poised to win now, but unlike just about every other elite franchise in the U.S., they don’t operate their venue. The Celtics are a tenant at Delaware North-owned TD Garden. Delaware North is controlled by the Jacobs family, which also owns the NHL’s Boston Bruins. Yes, the tenant status keeps capital expenditures down, but it means the Celtics don’t capture the revenue from concerts and other non-NBA live events that have boomed coming out of COVID-19. It also limits revenue from sponsorships and premium seating.
The Lakers are the only other team among the top 10 most valuable in each of the four biggest leagues that doesn’t run its venue—the New York Knicks and New York Rangers don’t technically operate Madison Square Garden, but franchise owner Jim Dolan controls all three assets.
The unique nature of the Celtics’ business has caused sales price estimates to range even more extremely than the typical parlor game among bankers, investors and team executives when a franchise hits the market. During Sportico’s NBA team valuations project, forecasts ranged from $4.5 billion to $6.5 billion. We valued the team at $5.66 billion, including its 20% stake in NBC Sports Boston, sixth highest in the NBA.
BDT put together a sales prospectus for potential bidders that details the team’s past financials and projections on the business. Gross revenue was $493 million for the 2023-24 season, according to someone who reviewed the document. The largest revenue source was $149 million from all ticketing streams, including general, premium and secondary. Prices are among the highest in the league, and a season ticket waiting list of more than 14,000 names indicates more pricing power is available.
