NBA
Wyc Grousbeck To Own Less Than 15% Of Celtics
James is a Basketball Insiders contributor. He earned his bachelor's degree in English and Creative Writing from Southern New Hampshire University. James enjoys watching sports and helping gamblers win money.
All posts by James FoglioUpdated39 mins ago on August 13, 2025
ESPN’s Shams Charania and Romana Shelburne first reported on Tuesday that Wyc Grousbeck will no longer stay on as governor as part of the Boston Celtics’ $6.1 billion sale to Bill Chisholm.
NBA Rules Require Each Governor To Own At Least 15% Of Team
League sources revealed that Bill Chisholm and Wyc Grousbeck intend to run the team together as originally planned. The change in structure was due to league rules, including minimum ownership, per Charania and Shelburne.
“Grousbeck will end up owning slightly less than the required 15% given final funding for the transaction. Operations of the team should remain consistent, with Brad Stevens and Rich Gotham continuing to run basketball and business operations, respectively,” wrote the ESPN duo.
The NBA doesn’t allow a person to act as governor if they don’t own at least 15% of the team. For a marquee franchise like the Celtics, that would require a $915 million investment, per Gio Rivera of NESN.
Grousbeck initially said while agreeing to sell the Celtics this spring that he planned to remain in control of the team through the 2028 season. Chisholm will now assume the title of governor.
Meanwhile, Grousbeck will retain his title as CEO and become an alternate governor when the sale is complete. Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban took on the same title after selling his majority share in the franchise in 2023.
Sale Of Celtics To Be Complete Within The Next Week
ESPN’s Tim Bontemps reported in March that the agreement between Chisholm and Groubeck’s groups involved “a two-part sale in which Chisholm would acquire at least 51% of the team upon approval by the NBA’s board of governors.”
“I’ve had a couple of sit-downs with Brad and it’s been about aligning our goals, and extending the window of this team. The plans that Wyc and Brad [Stevens] have laid out make perfect sense to me,” Chisholm told Charania at the time.
The sale of the Celtics is expected to be complete within the next week.
Per The Athletic’s Mike Vorkunov, Chisholm bought the franchise in a two-tiered transaction.
The first transaction, which will give the Chisholm group a majority stake in the Celtics, values the club at $6.1 billion. The second part of the sale will occur in 2028 to buy out remaining incumbent minority shareholders.
The sale will value the franchise at approximately $7.4 billion.
