A flag reading “Believe in Boston” flies during the duck boat parade celebrating the Boston Celtics' 18th NBA championship.
Stan Grossfeld | Boston Globe | Getty Images
The 2024 National Basketball Association champions are on sale.
The Boston Celtics ownership group announced Monday that it plans to sell the team, according to a statement posted on the Celtics' account on social media site X.
The controlling family of the ownership group, Boston Basketball Partners LLC, said it intends to sell all of its shares in the team “for estate and family planning considerations.”
The sale of a majority stake is expected to be completed in late 2024 or early 2025, with the remainder of the sale closing in 2028, according to the statement.
As sports franchise valuations rise, the Celtics could command a particularly high price. The team is one of the most successful and most followed in American professional sports, winning its record 18th NBA championship last month.
Wyc Grousbeck led a team of buyers to acquire the Celtics for $360 million in 2002. Grousbeck, a Massachusetts native and lifelong Celtics fan, expects to remain the team's chairman until the second closing in 2028.
Grousbeck is also part of the ownership group behind the Cincoro tequila brand, which includes other NBA team owners and Hall of Famer Michael Jordan.
Representatives for Grousbeck and the team did not immediately respond to CNBC's requests for comment.
Boston Celtics No. 7 Jaylen Brown shoots a three-point basket against the Dallas Mavericks during Game 5 of the 2024 NBA Finals at TD Garden in Boston on June 17, 2024.
Nathaniel S. Butler | National Basketball Association | Getty Images
Sports ratings and media rights rise
The Celtics became the latest NBA champions after beating the Dallas Mavericks in Game 5 of the Finals in June. It was the team's second championship under Grousbeck's ownership.
Professional sports teams in the United States, especially those in the NFL and NBA, have been fetching high valuations when owners sell a stake, if not the entire team.
In 2023, the NBA's Phoenix Suns and the WNBA's Phoenix Mercury were sold to Matt Ishbia for a record valuation of $4 billion.
Meanwhile, broadcast rights to leagues have never been more lucrative, as live sports attract the largest television audiences.
Negotiations regarding NBA broadcast rights are ongoing and an announcement is expected soon. ComcastNBCUniversal is expected to pay $2.5 billion a year, with DisneyIt's ESPN and Amazon's Prime Video among the other bidders, CNBC previously reported.
— CNBC's Jessica Golden contributed to this article.
Disclosure: NBCUniversal is the parent company of CNBC.
