In a surprising turn of events, this year’s NBA Champions, the Boston Celtics have been put on sale. The Celtics ownership group, led by Wyc Grousbeck looks to part ways with the team after spending 12 years with the franchise. The sale of the league’s most successful team in history is likely to fetch a handsome sum, which has prompted many fans to link some heavy-hitters to the sale. Among the many speculated suitors, business mogul Jeff Bezos has emerged as a possible candidate.
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Reports of Bezos’ potential involvement with the Celtics came to the forefront after the E-commerce mogul sold $5 billion worth of Amazon stocks over the weekend. The 60-year-old’s withdrawal is surprisingly close to the Celtics’ current valuation of $4.5 billion[ per Forbes], making fans and analysts speculate about Bezos’ possible involvement in buying the Boston-based franchise.
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Boston Celtics legend and member of the 2008 Championship team, Kevin Garnett recently seemed to consider the possibility too. Speculating about the sale, KG shared a post by @basketballforever on his Instagram story, captioning it, “What if though…Hmmm”.
KG contemplates over the Cemtics being potentially bought by Jeff Bezos pic.twitter.com/CEY2sCBM9x
— tragicpatek (@tragicpatek) July 6, 2024
The news of the Celtics going up for sale came just a few weeks after the Boston side lifted their 18th Championship, beating out the Mavericks in just 5 games. Adrian Wojnarowski was the first to report on the news Monday afternoon with his post on X,
“The Boston Celtics majority ownership group — led by Wyc Grousbeck — is planning to make the franchise available for sale,” Wojnarowski tweeted. “The investment group purchased the team in 2002. Massive development for one of the sports’ most valuable properties.”
But Jeff Bezos’ involvement with the sale has more grounding than most might believe. The multi-billionaire has been reportedly interested in buying an NBA franchise for some time now. The last time Bezos tried to pull the trigger on a sale was with the Phoenix Suns back in 2022. But he was beaten to the deal by Mat Ishbia, who paid $4 billion for the Arizona-based franchise.
With the Celtics handing out max contracts to their athletes left and right, it’s no surprise that Bezos’ move makes sense to many. For one, Bezos is among the few people on planet Earth who can bear the bill. Not only that, he will most probably be more than willing to go over the second apron of the luxury tax brackets to ensure that his team remains contenders in a league where money talks.
Footing a bill of almost a billion in salaries over the next five years might be taxing, but the Amazon founder will also inherit a loyal fanbase if he decides to go through with the purchase.
