Current Boston Celtics owner Wyc Grousbeck will no longer serve as lead governor following the team's $6.1 billion sale, ESPN's Shams Charania reported Tuesday. New owner Bill Chisholm, a managing partner at Symphony Technology Group, will assume the title of lead governor.
One day after the revelation, the NBA announced its board of governors had unanimously approved the sale of the team.
It's unclear whether the move is a change from the previously reported plan. When reports of the team's sale to Chisholm emerged in May, it was announced Grousbeck would remain the team's governor for three more seasons before handing things over to Chisholm.
"[Chisholm] has asked me to run the team as CEO and Governor for the first three years, and stay on as his partner, and I am glad to do so," Grousbeck's statement read at the time.
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There's enough ambiguity there to suggest this may have always been the plan. Grousbeck's original statement doesn't mention "lead governor," but does mention he would stay on as a partner for a few years.
It sounds like that will still be the case. Grousbeck is giving up his "lead governor" title, but will remain the team's alternate governor and CEO through 2028.
When the sale was announced in May, Grousbeck had nothing but good things to say about Chisholm, calling him a "terrific person and a true Celtics fan."
Grousbeck, with the help of an investment firm, purchased the Celtics for $360 million in 2002. He served as the team's CEO and lead governor most recently.
To the surprise of many, Grousbeck announced in 2024 that he was looking to sell his majority stake in the team. The announcement came just weeks after the Celtics defeated the Dallas Mavericks to win the NBA championship.
It didn't take too long for a deal to come together. Months later, Grousbeck announced the franchise's sale to Chisholm. The sale was announced for $6.1 billion, a North American record at the time.
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