This has been an offseason like no other for the Boston Celtics. After winning the NBA Finals and celebrating at their championship parade, the team announced it would be up for sale, as majority owner Wyc Grousbeck and his family decided it was the time to sell after 22-years.
There’s been an abundance of speculation as to what person could afford to buy the Celtics or another group of some sort to come up with the money. Some of the potential groups are: Fenway Sports Group, RedBird Capital, and the Jacobs Family, the owners of the Boston Bruins who neighbor the TD Garden with them.
There were also rumors of Tom Brady possibly buying the team. The biggest name that’s being reported right now is Jeff Bezos, the founder of Amazon. Bezos is worth an estimated $211 billion and wouldn’t need a group of investors to purchase the Celtics.
Bezos’ portfolio includes being the founder of Amazon, founder of Blue Origin, owner of The Washington Post, founder of Bezos Expeditions, Bezos Earth Fund, and The Bezos Academy. According to Forbes, Bezos is the second wealthiest person in the world.
Again, this is all speculation considering Bezos hasn’t commented on this yet. However, Bill Simmons did on his podcast, suggesting there is “legitimate buzz” surrounding Bezos buying the Celtics.
“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. I think he’s gonna be one of the suitors. Which got me thinking, Jeff Bezos, when he’s looking at the Celtics, what is he seeing? What does he want?… I think it’s real that he’s potentially in the mix for this.”
Over the last few years, Bezos’ Amazon Prime has adapted to the NFL by offering Thursday Night Football, which has been ongoing since 2017 and WNBA games. Other sport offerings include select New York Yankees games, National Women’s Soccer League, Seattle Kraken games, NASCAR, and boxing to name a few.
Although Bezos hasn’t made a statement about these rumors, Nick Wingfield, senior editor of The Information, a top publication that targets “high-powered tech executives and founders” to read daily, reports that Bezos has “no plans” to bid on the Celtics.
It’s worth mentioning that Stephen Pagliuca has been a co-owner of the Celtics along with the Grousbeck’s for the last 21-years. He said in the beginning of all of this that he will be a proud participant in the bidding process.
“Being a co-investor and Managing Partner of the Celtics has been a great honor and a labor of love. I hope to be part of the Celtics moving forward and will be a proud participant in the bidding process.”
It doesn’t track well for Bezos to purchase a sports team and I’m unsure that it would even be accepted by the league and the other team owners. Bezos would have to pay rent to the Jacobs family, when’s the last time you think he paid rent?
It’s also worth mentioning that it’ll eventually be a conflict of interest when you consider the TV and media deals moving forward. Amazon was just in the running for the NBA’s rights to stream games on Prime. It turned into a battle between TNT Warner Bros. and Amazon.
The Celtics are one of the premier teams in the NBA and will sell for upwards of the $6 billion asking price. Although Bezos might not need a group of investors like Pagliuca does, it’s fair to say that Pagliuca is the best fit for the team moving forward. He brings a semblance of continuity and understanding of the team dynamic.
It’s worth mentioning that no matter who becomes the new owner(s) of the team, the payroll for the 2025-26 season will be around $230 million in addition to luxury tax penalties projected to be higher than that. This means that Boston will be paying over $500 million for the season.
Grousbeck explained that the sale will take place in two parts and he will remain the team Governor until the end of the second closing through 2028.
“The expectation is to sell the team in two parts, 51 percent going fairly soon, 49 percent then closing in a second closing in 2028. I’m planning or expecting to stay on until ‘28.”
This sale will take a few years to process, but the majority 51 percent is expected to be sold soon. Hopefully it can end up in the hands of Pagliuca.
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