The Boston Celtics The Boston Celtics are for sale, and one of the wealthiest people on the planet is reportedly interested in purchasing the iconic NBA franchise.
There is "legitimate buzz" about Amazon founder Jeff Bezos buying the Celtics, The Ringer's Bill Simmons said Monday on his podcast. With a reported net worth of just under $200 billion, Bezos would be the richest NBA owner by a significant margin.
While Bezos' deep pockets would give C's fans peace of mind when it comes to the the team's finances, some may prefer to keep the team's ownership local. In that case Celtics co-owner Steve Pagliuca, who stated he plans to be involved in the bidding process, would be a desirable candidate.
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Should Celtics fans be excited about the possibility of Bezos owning the team? Our Tom E. Curran and Phil Perry were joined by Andrew Callahan of the Boston Herald as they shared their takes on Monday's Early Edition.
"It will be jarring and it will make the Garden -- or the Amazon.com Stadium, whatever it turns into -- a destination for the world in some ways," Curran said. "It will be different.
"Does it need this kind of retro rocket applied to the region anyway to move it forward from some of its parochial nature? I don't know, I kind of like it here, but maybe folks would think that. ... I've got trepidation, but I can see the upside."
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Perry is on board with Bezos, citing the luxury tax as an issue that would be a non-factor with the wealthiest owner in sports.
"It's really hard to find an owner who has so much money that the luxury tax thing is not an issue," Perry said. "It's just the combination of wanting the Celtics, understanding the Celtics being, you know, an NBA follower for a long time as I assume Jeff Bezos is, I really don't know. But at least it's not like a foreign entity that we know nothing about, which I think is in play at some point because they are so damn valuable and they're so hard to purchase.
"Maybe the best way to find the best fit for the region is to get a bunch of people together -- which it sounds like it is going to happen -- who have a ton of money and together they can own the Celtics and they can be a group of local people as opposed to one billionaire. But the idea of Bezos is exciting."
Callahan isn't as sold on the idea as Perry. He notes that although Bezos has the financial flexibility to handle luxury tax penalities, there's no guarantee he will be willing to pay the hefty price every year.
"One, I think the luxury tax penalties would be not punitive to him in a way that it would be the other 29 owners in the league. Number two, I don't think paying the money hurts as much as the ego. Like, that money goes to your competitors. And after a while, you can pay $300 million. It gets to five (hundred million) and you go, 'What are we doing this for again?' Like, 'Why don't we play a little bit smarter, a little bit better, the way I conduct my other businesses?"
The Celtics' sale is expected to begin later this year or early 2025, with Wyc Grousbeck ending his term as governor when the sale closes in 2028. According to Simmons, the NBA wants the Celtics to sell for $6 billion.
Watch the full Early Edition segment below or on YouTube: