The Boston Celtics’ decision to hand out several long-term contracts to the team’s stars reportedly caused division within the ownership group.
According to Josh Kosman of the New York Post, the Celtics’ rising payroll “sparked a rift” within the Grousbeck family which owns a majority stake in the organization. Irving Grousbeck, the owner of a roughly 20 percent stake in the team and father of front-facing governor Wyc Grousbeck, reportedly balked at the “massive contracts” that helped Boston win a league-best 64 games.
On July 1, the Grousbeck family announced that it was selling its stake in the team less than a month after the Celtics hoisted the Larry O’Brien Trophy.
Forbes calculated the team’s value at $4.7 billion in Oct. 2023, which has likely increased following a title.
Boston has put together one of the best rosters in the association throughout the past few seasons under team president Brad Stevens, but it has been costly to keep the team’s core together. All-Star forward Jaylen Brown signed a five-year extension worth up to $303.7 million in July 2023, which represented the richest contract in NBA history at the time.
The Celtics later handed Jrue Holiday a four-year, $135 million deal. Derrick White agreed to a four-year extension worth $126 million at the end of the season.
Boston wasn’t done just yet, as Jayson Tatum signed a massive five-year, $314 million contract on the same day. Tatum broke his own teammate’s record for the richest deal in the history of the Association.
The Celtics “barely broke even” during their 2024 championship run and are expected to lose roughly $80 million in luxury tax penalties after the 2024-25 season, per Kosman. Boston is also expected to carry about $513 million in combined salary and tax penalties for the 2025-26 season alone (via ESPN’s Bobby Marks).
The Grousbeck family hopes to sell a 51 percent stake in “late 2024” or “early 2025” before selling the rest in 2028, according to Adam Himmelsbach of the Boston Globe.
Wyc Grousbeck would remain the controlling owner of the team until the sale is complete in 2028.
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