Boston Celtics sale set to break NBA record: Most expensive team in US sport history?

A deal to sell the Boston Celtics has been green-lit by the NBA board of governors, setting the pathway for a sale that values the team at a league-record $6.1 billion.

The news was reported on Wednesday, with private equity mogul Bill Chisholm leading the purchasing group behind the deal. Chisholm is set to take a 51% stake of the team, a share that will increase to full control by 2028. By that point, the total value could reach as high as $7.3 billion.

Once the deal goes through, the $6.1 billion valuation would be the highest ever reached by any US sports team. The previous record was set by the Washington Commanders, who were sold for $6.05 billion in 2023.

In the NBA, the current record is the $4 billion that mortgage firm owner Mat Ishibia paid for the Phoenix Suns in 2023.

The Celtics’ valuation could have reached as high at $7.3 billion when Chisholm takes full control of the team in three years time but it may have been usurped at the top of the charts by that point. Los Angeles Dodgers owner Mark Walter is reportedly closing in on a mammoth $10 billion deal to buy the Lakers.

ESPN reports that current owner Jeanie Buss is eager to retain at least 15% of the Lakers in the deal. However the cost of the deal would put the total valuation of the iconic franchise at $10 billion, blowing the Celtics’ cost out of the water.

Dodgers manager Dave Roberts welcomed the sale, describing it as “a very exciting day for the Lakers, for the city of Los Angeles.”

“He’s very competitive, and he’s going to do everything he can to produce a championship-caliber team every single year and make sure the city feels proud about the Lakers and the legacy that they’ve already built with the Buss family.”

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