Only weeks after the Boston Celtics won their first NBA Championship since 2008—and not long after the team’s billionaire principal owner acknowledged the Celtics are losing money—the ownership group, valued at $4.7 billion last year by Forbes calculations, is looking to sell the team.

The controlling group of the company, the billionaire Grousbeck family, has decided to sell all of its shares, according to a statement released by Boston Basketball Partners L.L.C. on Monday to various media sources. The statement cited “estate and family planning considerations” as the reason for the decision.

The company stated that Wyc Grousbeck, the face of Boston Basketball Partners, will continue to serve as the team’s governor until 2028 and that they plan to sell the bulk of the team either late this year or early next.The Celtics were purchased for $360 million in 2002 by cable television tycoon Irving Grousbeck, his son Wyc Grousbeck, and additional investors.

In 2023, Forbes ranked the Celtics as the fourth most valuable club in the NBA.Who is going to buy the Boston Celtics? When the team announced the sale, it did not say whether or not it had purchasers in queue. John Henry, whose Fenway Sports Group owns the Boston Red Sox, Liverpool Premier League soccer team, Boston Common Golf, Roush Fenway Racing in Nascar, and the Pittsburgh Penguins, and Robert Kraft, who owns the New England Patriots and New England Revolution MLS club, are two other billionaire team owners in the city.It is estimated that the Grousbeck family is worth $1.8 billion. A privately held cable television system operator, Continental Cablevision was co-founded by Irving Grousbeck in 1963. In 1996, the company merged with US West.The Celtics were bought out by The Grousbecks, Stephen Pagliuca, and The Abbey Group 22 years ago. The Abbey Group is composed of Robert Epstein, Paul Edgerley, Glenn Hutchins, and James Pallotta. Since Boston Basketball Partners took over, the Celtics have advanced to the postseason 19 times and emerged victorious in both of the franchise’s titles, 2008 and 2024. Wyc made no indication to the media that he was considering selling after participating in the Celtics championship parade two weeks ago, so the sale came as a surprise. Several other NBA owners, such as Dallas Mavericks billionaire Mark Cuban, who sold a majority stake to casino tycoon Miriam Adelson, have also made unexpected decisions.

  The Celtics are already among the most expensive teams in sports thanks to the high-dollar player contracts they inked last year.This summer marks the start of Jaylen Brown’s five-year, $303.7 million supermax contract deal, which he signed last year. ESPN said, citing unidentified sources, that point guard Derrick White agreed to a four-year, $125.9 million contract extension on Monday, and Luke Kornet is expected to return on a one-year deal. Additionally, on Monday, news surfaced that Jayson Tatum has consented to a $315 million supermax contract extension, making it the biggest NBA contract ever. The team is “losing money,” according to Grousebeck, who told The Boston Globe last month, but he said he’s “unconcerned,” allegedly telling his partners at one time that “this is about winning championships… so we will be paid in enjoyment.” Parades will be how we are paid.