Latest Celtics Sale Update Could See Team Sold to Former Patriots Rival

On January 18, it was reported that the Boston Celtics received the first round of bids for their proposed sale. Now, we finally have more details about who some of the bidders are. It turns out, Jeffrey Lurie, who owns the Super Bowl-bound Philadelphia Eagles but also has deep roots in Boston, is one of the bidders.

Darren Hartwell of NBC Sports Boston revealed the depth of Lurie's roots in a recent article.

"Lurie was born in Boston and grew up an avid fan of all Boston sports, including the Celtics...Lurie also was a die-hard New England Patriots fan, and his family held season tickets since the franchise's inception in 1960. In fact, Lurie actually bid to purchase the Patriots from previous owner James Orthwein in 1993. "

-  Darren Hartwell, NBC Sports Boston

The founder of The Ringer and diehard Boston sports fan, Bill Simmons, commented:

"The Celtics, it was their first round of buyers, they had to cut down their [prospective] buyers. Four or five people made the first round. One of the people was the Eagles owner, Jeffrey Lurie, who is apparently from Massachusetts. "

- Bill Simmons, The Ringer

If Jeffrey Lurie were to purchase the Celtics, I would be ecstatic. Since I moved to Philadelphia in 2018, the Eagles have been one of the NFL’s premier teams, in large part due to Lurie’s willingness to spend money to retain and acquire talent.

His most notable acquisition was signing star running back Saquon Barkley away from the New York Giants this offseason. In his first season with the Birds, Saquon put up record-setting numbers en route to becoming a first-team All-Pro and an MVP finalist. Lurie is also willing to reward his homegrown players, most notably wide receiver DeVonta Smith and quarterback Jalen Hurts, with long-term extensions.

The Celtics are clear title contenders but are very expensive. As I mentioned in my previous article, according to Bobby Marks, between salaries and the league’s luxury tax penalties, the team's roster would cost more than $500 million to maintain. Given Lurie’s track record of paying his team’s best players and his Boston roots, keeping this version of the Celtics together long-term probably would not be an issue for him.

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