THE COST OF CHAMPIONSHIPS
THE Boston Celtics broke another record recently. I am not referring to their NBA-leading 18 champion-ship rings or their league-leading 48.1 attempts per game from the three-point line this season, it's the record-breaking sale to new franchise owner William Chisholm for $6.1 billion.
The Celtics transaction represents the largest sale of an American sports team, slightly over the $6.05 billion set by the Washington Commanders of the National Football League in 2023. The same year also saw the Phoenix Suns and Phoenix Suns sold to mortgage executive Mat Ishbia for $4 billion. That was, until the Celtics sale, the highest paid for an NBA franchise.
The deal comes at a time when the Celtics are thriving, fresh from their 18th banner and are in a good position to win title No. 19. Also, the Celtics are built to have an extended championship window with two superstars just about to enter their prime, namely Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown.
While Chisholm has declared that he wants to build upon the success of the former owners and work to bring more championships to Boston, the current cost of the Celtics team is quite alarming.
For the 2025–2026 season with only 11 players under contract, Boston's payroll and luxury tax are ex-pected to hit over $450 million. If the Celtics fail to win their second consecutive title this year, the new ownership just might be tempted to unload some of their championship core to lessen the high cost of maintaining this team.
For next season, the Celtics payroll will be around $225 million with their starting unit of Kristaps Porzingis, Jrue Holiday, Der-rick White, Brown and Tatum earning at least $28 million each. The combined salaries of Brown and Tatum alone are nearly $110 million. The problem with trying to shed any salary from the best five means that Boston will become a less talented team, putting Chisholm in an awkward position of buying a storied franchise only to break it up.
There are many examples of new ownership wanting to immediately imprint their legacy by making big swings in terms of personnel. Ishbia, for example, wanted to win straightaway and dismantled a young and solid lineup, trading away draft assets and budding superstars to bring in superstars Kevin Durant and Bradley Beal to team up with Devin Booker. He turned Phoenix into the most expensive and most frustrating team this season. The Suns are currently in 10th place in the Western Conference and are in danger of missing the play-in tournament altogether.
An even scarier example would be new Dallas governor Patrick Dumont trading away franchise superstar Luka Doncic to the Los Angeles Lakers in February. Dumont managed to destroy the Mavericks — from championship contenders to cellar dwellers — in just two months.
The Celtics fan base, however, are hoping that the new owners have an even deeper commitment to title contention even if they must break the bank to do so. With incoming national TV deals likely to increase the salary cap, this might further encourage Chisholm to pursue another dynasty.
2025-03-22T16:21:38Z