Shortly after securing their 18th championship in franchise history, the Boston Celtics were hit with a bombshell. Wyc Grousbeck, who has owned the team since 2002, plans to sell the team. It will be a long-term sale that concludes in 2028, but the Grousbecks will no longer be the head of the snake in Boston.
But while the decision was initially reported to be a matter of planning for the family’s future, new reporting indicates that there may be a much more dramatic reason. Grousbeck’s father, Irv, hasn’t been seeing eye to eye with his son for the past couple of years.
Luckily for Celtics fans, Wyc made sure to push his luck.
According to an exclusive from Josh Kosman of the New York Post, the Grousbecks have been in disagreement regarding the financial situation that the Celtics are in.
Boston has one of the most expensive payrolls in the NBA, and heading into the future, it’s only going to get more expensive. They handed out multiple extensions this summer, and their core is under contract for the long haul.
Kosman reported that the Celtics barely broke even this year, and next season, they are projected to lose roughly $80 million.
“The Boston Celtics’ ballooning payroll allegedly sparked a rift within the family that owns the team – leading the aging patriarch to demand his free-spending son sell the iconic franchise, The Post has learned,” Kosman wrote. “Irving Grousbeck, a 90-year-old Massachusetts-born entrepreneur who owns a controlling roughly 20% stake in the team, balked at funding big losses on the horizon from the massive contracts that helped the Celtics capture a record 18th NBA championship in June, multiple sources told The Post.”
A source told The Post, “That’s what happens when dad puts in most of the money,” regarding the decision to sell the team.
Wyc only owns roughly 3% of the team, but he has been the front-facing owner for years.
It’s surprising that there was a bit of hesitance from ownership to back such a large payroll. The Celtics’ historically massive team salary is set to sit around the $500 million mark next season.
Obviously, had Wyc not splurged, the Celtics may not have won a championship this year, and they certainly wouldn’t have their core locked up for seasons to come.
For those reasons, it’s for the best the chips fell the way they did, but the result will ultimately end up being a new ownership group in Boston.
