Shortly after the Boston Celtics won their first championship in more than 15 years, owner Wyc Grousbeck put the team up for sale. After months of searching for a buyer, Grousbeck found one in Bill Chisolm, as the private equity firm founder reportedly agreed on Thursday to a record-setting $6.1 billion sale price to acquire one of the most famous sports franchises in the world.
That price tag set a new benchmark in the world of franchise sales, breaking the record set in 2023 when Dan Snyder sold the Washington Commanders to a group led by Josh Harris for $6.05 billion. Since 2012, there have been a dozen U.S. sports teams that have been sold for more than $2 billion, as valuations have skyrocketed over the last decade-plus and a number of owners have looked to cash out on their investments.
Here we’ll look at those 12 sales, which do not include valuations of partial sales (i.e., Marc Lasry selling his 25% stake in the Milwaukee Bucks at a $3.5 billion total valuation).
1. Boston Celtics (2025): $6.1 billion
Given the spike in franchise valuations in recent years, the Celtics were guaranteed to set a new bar for an NBA franchise sale, but they also just edged out the Commanders sale from two years ago. Grousbeck will maintain control through the 2027-28 season as the Celtics look to hang another banner or two by the time he fully steps away.
2. Washington Commanders (2023): $6.05 billion
Snyder didn’t go quietly, but eventually relented in his fight to keep the Commanders by selling them to Josh Harris (who is also part of the Philadelphia 76ers ownership group) for just over $6 billion to reset the sports franchise market. Harris’ tenure as owner got off to a terrific start as the team found its franchise quarterback in Jayden Daniels and made a surprising run to the NFC Championship Game in 2024.
3. Denver Broncos (2022): $4.65 billion
The Pat Bowlen Trust sold the team to the Walton-Penner family (of Walmart fame) in 2022, three years after the death of longtime owner Pat Bowlen. The $4.65 billion sale was at the time the biggest in U.S. sports history and Rob Walton, the son of Walmart founder Sam Walton, immediately became the wealthiest owner in the NFL.
4. Phoenix Suns and Mercury (2023): $4 billion
Mat Ishbia acquired the Suns and Mercury as a package deal from Robert Sarver in 2023 in a sale that was the largest in NBA history at the time. Under Ishbia, the Suns have been aggressive in trying to acquire stars, but while they’ve racked up the league’s highest luxury tax bill, they’ve not matched that with the kind of on-court success they hoped for.
5. Dallas Mavericks (2023): $3.5 billion
Mark Cuban’s decision to sell a majority stake in the Mavericks in 2023 was perhaps the most shocking sale on this list, as Cuban had become one of the most prominent owners in all of sports. He sold over 70% of his stake in the team to Miriam Adelson in 2023 for $3.5 million, and new ownership promptly lit any goodwill with Mavs fans on fire by trading Luka Doncic two years later.
6. Charlotte Hornets (2023): $3 billion
Michael Jordan selling the Charlotte Hornets for $3 billion to a group led by Rick Schnall and Gabe Plotkin in 2023 took many by surprise. The fact that a Hornets team that has never made it past the second round of the playoffs in its entire existence and has just three playoff appearances in the last 20 years could sell for that much was pretty jaw-dropping, even with the Mavs and Suns being priced where they were that same year.
7. New York Mets (2020): $2.4 billion
Steve Cohen set the bar for MLB franchise sales with his 2020 purchase of the New York Mets from the disgraced Wilpon family, topping the Dodgers sale from 2012. Cohen quickly became one of the more aggressive owners in terms of roster spending (alongside the Dodgers), headlined by the record contract handed out to Juan Soto.
8. Brooklyn Nets (2019): $2.35 billion
Joe Tsai bought the Brooklyn Nets in two stages, first acquiring a 49% stake and then buying out the other half of Mikhail Prokorov’s stake in the team in 2019. The total sale was for north of $3 billion, but that included ownership of the Barclays Center. The team itself was valued at $2.35 billion when he completed the purchase.
9. Carolina Panthers (2017): $2.275 billion
When Jerry Richardson opted to sell the Panthers in 2017, David Tepper went from a minority owner of the Steelers to a majority owner in Carolina. The hedge fund manager paid cash for the Panthers in 2017, setting a new record for a franchise purchase at the time, but the ownership change has not seen the team enjoy the kind of turnaround fans hoped for in Carolina.
10. Houston Rockets (2019): $2.2 billion
Five years after Ballmer reset the market for NBA franchise sales, Tilman Fertitta exceeded it with his $2.2 billion purchase of the Rockets from Leslie Alexander. Fertitta had reportedly tried to purchase the team in 1993 but was beat out by Alexander in bidding, and paid a whole lot more to acquire the team 26 years later.
11. Los Angeles Dodgers (2012): $2.15 billion
Steve McCourt’s sale of the Dodgers to Guggenheim Baseball Management in 2012 held the title of the biggest sale in American pro sports for five years. Since the Guggenheim group acquired the team, few ownership groups have spent more money on their rosters than the Dodgers.
12. Los Angeles Clippers (2014): $2 billion
Steve Ballmer reset the NBA franchise valuation market when he purchased the Clippers in 2014 after Donald Sterling was forced to sell. The Microsoft co-founder was determined to land an NBA franchise and shocked many with a $2 billion offer for the once-lowly Clippers. Ballmer has since invested more than $1 billion more into the newly built Intuit Dome to give the Clippers a new home.
