After selling the Boston Celtics to Bill Chisholm for $6.1 billion in March and agreeing to stay on as the team's CEO and governor, long-time owner Wyc Grousbeck will no longer stay on, according to Ramona Shelburne and Shams Charania of ESPN.
Although the original plan had been for Grousbeck to remain in this role with the Celtics through 2028, he will no longer be the governor for the team he's run over the last two decades.
Chisholm will inherit the title as the Celtics' governor, and this transfer of power will be made official at the league's next Board of Governors meeting.
Grousbeck is expected to retain his CEO title and be an alternate governor once the sale is completed. While Chisholm will be the Celtics' governor, both he and Grousbeck will run the team together. This change was due to league rules, including minimum ownership, according to Shelburne.
The Grousbeck family led the ownership group that originally purchased the team in 2002 for $360 million. Given his ties to the Boston community and this historic franchise, Grousbeck was prepared to remain with the Celtics in a small capacity and oversee the transfer of ownership with Chisholm, stating he was “glad to do so” through 2028.
“We hoped from the beginning to find the right person with the resources and commitment to win banners and being a great person,” Grousbeck told ESPN. “Bill checks every box for us. I have always been a consultant and have had final say here with the Celtics since the family bought into the team, and that will continue for the next three years, and we will transition.”
Less than six months after this statement, Grousbeck has already decided to transition, and he will no longer be the Celtics' governor following this $6.1 billion sale to Chisholm.
When this purchase was made by Chisholm at the end of the 2024-25 NBA season, the plan was for the new owner to acquire at least 51 percent of the team and be approved this summer.
