NBA
Will Jeff Bezos Buy The Boston Celtics?
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Get to know Dan Girolamo betterPublished19 Aug 2024
Will Jeff Bezos buy the Boston Celtics? One prominent media figure believes the Amazon founder is in play to purchase the Celtics.
Will Jeff Bezos Buy The Boston Celtics?
Could Jeff Bezos buy the Boston Celtics?@BillSimmons shares what he's hearing regarding the sale of the team and how it ties into the price of future expansion franchises: pic.twitter.com/HI7KyUIanj
— The Ringer (@ringer) August 19, 2024
On his Sunday night podcast, The Ringer founder Bill Simmons suggested Bezos is a name to watch for the Celtics sale.
Why would Bezos, a man worth nearly $200 billion, want to own a sports team? Simmons believes it has to do with the prestige of the Celtics, one of the most famous organizations in professional sports.
“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,” Simmons said. “I think he’s gonna be one of the suitors. Which got me thinking, why would Jeff Bezos, when he’s looking at the Celtics, what is he seeing? What does he want? I think the only way it makes sense—I mean, granted, he has a gajillion dollars—but it’s one of the crown-jewel franchises, right? That’s why you get it. To him it’d be no different than if he bought this famous, gigantic, $300 million yacht. But I think it’s real that he’s potentially in the mix for this.”
This is not Bezos’ first time trying to buy a team. Bezos was in the mix to buy the Washington Commanders. However, New Jersey Devils and Philadelphia 76ers owner Josh Harris outbid Bezos and acquired the team for $6.05 billion.
Celtics should — and undoubtedly would — welcome a Jeff Bezos bid. Deep pockets (for luxury tax paying purposes), new arena (Bezos isn't paying rent for long). The NBA would love to have Bezos as part of its ownership group, too.
— Chris Mannix (@SIChrisMannix) August 19, 2024
What Will It Cost To Buy The Boston Celtics?
Two weeks after winning the 2024 NBA Championship, the Celtics announced that Wyc Grousbeck, the majority owner, planned to sell the team.
Grousbeck wants to sell 51% of the Celtics by the end of 2024 or early 2025. Then, sell the remaining 49% in 2028. Grousbeck expects to be the Celtics’ governor until the team is fully sold in 2028.
What is the asking price for the Celtics? Simmons believes $6 billion is the likely figure. That’s the price the NBA is looking for when selling two future expansion teams.
“They [NBA] want the $6 billion because they want expansion teams in Seattle and Vegas — and Mexico City’s kind of looming as the third team — but they want to get $6 billion apiece for the two franchises for expansion, which would mean a check of $400 million to every NBA owner, all 30.”
