The “Believe in Boston” flag flies during the duckboat parade celebrating the Boston Celtics' 18th NBA championship.
Stan Grossfeld | Boston Globe | Getty Images
The 2024 National Basketball Association champions are up for sale.
The Boston Celtics' ownership group announced Monday that it plans to sell the team, according to a rack posted to the Celtics account on the social media site X.
The controlling family of the ownership group, Boston Basketball Partners LLC, has indicated that it plans to sell all of its shares in the team “for estate and family planning purposes.”
According to the statement, the sale of a majority stake is expected to close in late 2024 or early 2025, with the remainder of the sale to close in 2028.
With sports franchise valuations skyrocketing, the Celtics could fetch a particularly high price. The team is one of the most successful and widely followed in American professional sports, winning an NBA-record 18 championships last month.
Wyc Grousbeck led a team of buyers who acquired the Celtics in 2002 for $360 million. Grousbeck, a Massachusetts native and lifelong Celtics fan, expects to remain the team's governor through the second closing in 2028.
Grousbeck is also part of the ownership group behind the tequila brand Cincoro, 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 #7 Jaylen Brown shoots a three-pointer 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 and media rights valuations rise
The Celtics became the last NBA champions after defeating the Dallas Mavericks in Game 5 of the Finals in June. It was the team's second championship under Grousbeck's ownership.
American professional sports teams, particularly those in the National Football League and the NBA, fetch high valuations when owners sell a stake or even the entire team.
In 2023, the NBA's Phoenix Suns and the WNBA's Phoenix Mercury were sold to Mat Ishbia for a record $4 billion.
Meanwhile, media rights for the leagues have never been more lucrative, as live sporting events attract the largest TV audiences.
Negotiations for the NBA media rights are still ongoing, with an announcement expected soon. ComcastNBCUniversal is expected to pay $2.5 billion a year, with Disney's ESPN and Amazon'According to CNBC, Prime Video is among the other bidders.
— CNBC's Jessica Golden contributed to this article.
Disclosure: NBCUniversal is the parent company of CNBC.
