Boston Celtics sale could break records

Catch up quick: The club was purchased in 2002 for $360 million, including $200 million in equity, by a group that included venture capitalist Wyc Grousbeck, his telecom tycoon father Irv, and private equity investor Steve Pagliuca.

• Wyc eventually became lead owner, but most of the Grousbeck contribution came from Irv. Wyc even noted during last year's Axios BFD event that he took out a home mortgage to finance his share.
• A source familiar with the situation says that the Grousbecks currently own just over a quarter of the Celtics.

The latest: The total ownership group on Monday announced its intention to sell the club, adding that the Grousbecks had made the decision for "estate and family planning considerations."

• The structure would be to offload a majority stake in 2024 or early 2025, with the remainder to close in 2028. Wyc Grousbeck would remain an NBA governor (i.e., the club's rep among owners) until 2028.
• Pagliuca, who has increased his position over the years, said he wants to be part of a buying group. Venture capitalist Jim Breyer, who owns a small piece currently, told Axios the same.

The big picture: The Celtics are basketball's most storied franchise, and come up for sale just as the NBA finishes negotiations on a mammoth new media rights deal.

• People already are talking about $5 billion and $6 billion price tags, the latter of which is what Josh Harris paid to buy the Washington Commanders.

What to watch: The most likely scenario is that Pagliuca tries to cobble together a group that includes some combination of a new deep pocket, a private equity fund, and a sovereign wealth fund.

• Remember, if he and the other minority owners roll over their stakes, they may only need around $1.5 billion. Kind of like how Mat and Justin Ishbia didn't really need $4 billion to buy the Phoenix Suns last year.
• On the deep pocket side, expect both Boston Red Sox owner John Henry and New England Patriots owner Bob Kraft to kick tires (albeit not together).
• Henry's Fenway Sports Group could benefit by adding the Celtics to its regional sports network (NESN), but likely would need to offload an asset to get enough liquidity (goodbye, Liverpool F.C.?).
• Kraft might need to sell some of his forest products company, but he has a penchant for the sort of adoration that would come from keeping the Celtics in local hands.

Zoom out: Beyond that, Boston is fairly bereft of multi-billionaires.

• The richest person in town, Fidelity's Abby Johnson, has never expressed interest in sports team ownership.

Alt idea: Grousbeck during our BFD conversation floated the idea of returning the Celtics to the public markets. That could fill some of the capital gap were it to be pursued by Pagliuca or someone else.

But, but, but: There are two big caveats that could eat into the record-breaking price projection.

• First, the Celtics don't own their own building. That means less revenue from parking, concessions, and the like. Moreover, the club doesn't have a great relationship with its landlord — Boston Bruins owner Jeremy Jacobs (who isn't considered to be a suitor, even though makes some sense).
• Any prospective buyer will certainly consider trying to build a new facility, maybe near the local casino, but doing so might require Bezos-type money. Such a move also could help lure a WNBA expansion team to Boston.
• Second, the Celtics are about to have the highest player payroll in league history, having decided to keep the championship core together for years to come. This includes Monday's giant new contracts for Jayson Tatum and Derrick White.

The bottom line: When current ownership bought the club, they said they weren't too concerned with making money. They didn't want to lose money either, but their mission was to be long-term stewards of a cherished institution, and add some banners to the rafters.

• That's largely how things have played out. At least until now.