CNBC INTERVIEW WITH WYC GROUSBECK, LEAD OWNER AND GOVERNOR, BOSTON CELTICS

Jul 8, 202420:14 UTC

TRANSCRIPT

July 08, 2024

NEWS EVENT

WYC GROUSBECK, LEAD OWNER AND GOVERNOR, BOSTON CELTICS

CNBC INTERVIEW WITH WYC GROUSBECK, LEAD OWNER AND GOVERNOR,

BOSTON CELTICS

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CNBC INTERVIEW WITH WYC GROUSBECK, LEAD OWNER AND GOVERNOR,

BOSTON CELTICS

JULY 8, 2024

SPEAKERS:

WYC GROUSBECK, LEAD OWNER AND GOVERNOR, BOSTON CELTICS

SCOTT WAPNER, CNBC HOST

SCOTT WAPNER, CNBC HOST: Fresh off winning an NBA record 18th world championship last month, Wyc Grousbeck stunned the sports world by announcing he would sell his majority stake in the franchise. He will remain the team's governor until 2028 and hasn't addressed his surprising decision until today.

Wyc is here on set at Post 9 for a CNBC Sport exclusive interview. He did bring the Larry O'Brien Trophy with him.

Welcome back.

I think it's — hasn't gotten old yet, huh?

WYC GROUSBECK, LEAD OWNER AND GOVERNOR, BOSTON CELTICS: 2008 hasn't gotten old.

(LAUGHTER)

WAPNER: Yes, I bet.

GROUSBECK: I'm still — I'm still celebrating from 16 years ago.

WAPNER: You're still wearing the ring.

GROUSBECK: It's a great feeling. Thanks, Scott.

WAPNER: All right. So you got another one.

What have these last couple of weeks been like for you?

GROUSBECK: It's been just a dream. You carry the trophy around. It's heavy. Put it down here at the stock exchange. Put it in the Hamptons last weekend. Wherever it is, people cluster around. They love feeling the vibe of Celtic pride or of the championship.

And it's a great feeling.

WAPNER: Can you describe what that day was like of the parade, as you see — look, Boston's a pretty hardcore sports city, right? Let's be honest.

GROUSBECK: Oh, yes.

WAPNER: I don't know how many millions of people were out there on the route, but can you describe what that feeling was like after winning one a number of years ago and now being able to do it again?

GROUSBECK: It's a great feeling to have everybody in Boston and around come out. I think we had a million-five.

But that's the 13th parade Boston has had this century. So I'm a very proud born-and-raised Bostonian. It's not just the Celtics for me. It's everybody. And this — to have had two of the 13 parades is a thrill. I love being part of a champion city.

WAPNER: Was it sweeter given some of the issues that the team had over the last few years, right?

GROUSBECK: Yes.

WAPNER: You have been a favorite, haven't lived up to, I think, many people's expectations at the end.

GROUSBECK: True.

WAPNER: So does that make it sweeter this time around?

GROUSBECK: Yes, the first time came together quickly and worked magically and was unbelievable to win your first championship.

But this one was a battle. It was like climbing Mount Everest, and it took eight or nine years. And so to get to the top after an eight-or-nine-year battle with the same people that you believed in from the beginning, Jayson and Jaylen as an example, what a thrill.

It's a lifetime bond you form. When you win a championship, you form a bond forever with players and coaches. And it's a great feeling.

WAPNER: Tatum and Brown, respectively, of course.

GROUSBECK: Yes.

WAPNER: Were there times over the last couple of years where you wondered whether you could win with those guys?

GROUSBECK: Sure. We were ahead in the finals, and we lost. And then we were behind in Miami the year after and lost that series. We lost to two good teams.

But you always wonder. We made some changes in the off-season, and we took it all the way, 81 and 21 or something; 80 and 21, it was a good run.

WAPNER: I know that many were surprised, if not shocked, to hear the news that you were going to sell your majority stake in the franchise. Can you tell us why you made that decision?

GROUSBECK: Sure.

Well, I want to just clarify. It's not my majority stake. The control of the team is owned by my family. So it's a family that I belong to. And then I have the Celtics family I also belong to. So there's an intersection and there's an involvement.

So the family has been involved, we have been involved 22 years. So there's been discussions and thoughts about estate planning and family planning. And so the plan, the expectation is to sell the team in two parts, 51 percent going fairly soon, 49 percent then closing in a second closing, that's the expectation, in 2028.

I'm planning or expected to stay on until '28. And we're going to hire bankers and advisers. And this is going to be quite a bidding process.

WAPNER: So this was a family decision. You said in the press release that it was, quote, "estate and family planning considerations."

GROUSBECK: Right.

WAPNER: Can you elaborate at all on that?

GROUSBECK: I think that speaks — I think, Scott, it — that really just says it. It's just — it's a family, been in, in a long time, and loves the Celtics.

And at some point, after 22 or even 25, 26 years, you can find somebody else to come in with energy and commitment. We're going to try to find the right buyer.

WAPNER: What was the reaction of your partners? Were they shocked?

GROUSBECK: There's such a good feeling. I have such a great partnership. The true answer really is, it is shocking. Yes, it's surprising to people.

But the real answer underneath the — after the first moment of shock is, what a great ride we have had. And I hope it continues one way or another. But it's a great partnership. I mean, I could go on for hours about these partners and what we have done over the last 20 years.

WAPNER: It's a unique process in which you're going to go through, because, as I read in the intro, you're going to remain the governor until 2028.

So you will still be the person in charge of this franchise until 2028? You will be the principal decision-maker?

GROUSBECK: Well, that's how we planned it out. So, that's — I would say that's the expectation going in to this process.

Having said that, and so that's — I would love that to happen, and that's the expectation. But we will see what plays out, and we will go from there.

WAPNER: Let's talk about possible price.

(LAUGHTER)

WAPNER: You bought the team for $360 million in 2002. I saw a valuation the other day of $5 billion. The Commanders, obviously, in the NFL went for $6 billion. That's the most ever paid. What do you think the Celtics are going to go for?

GROUSBECK: I can't say. I don't know, is the answer. That's why I can't say. I know it's going to be — I mean, there's been a lot of inbound interest, obviously.

You can't buy these things — you can't buy these teams at the bottom — at the top. You can buy them at the bottom. You can buy them with a long rebuild. We are poised to go after another championship and be a real contender. I mean, we're poised. And we're bringing everybody back.

And so we're poised for a great run going forward. So I would think there'd be interest because people are — would be able to start being involved in something that is at the top of the world, and not at the bottom.

WAPNER: Well, you're going to leave the team, obviously, in a pretty good place. You signed Jayson Tatum just the other day to a supermax deal. That was $314 million.

By the way, it's remarkable to me how easy these numbers just roll off the tongue in this day and age.

GROUSBECK: For me, it's not my personal money, as much as it comes in from fans and media. And we put it to good use, the best use we can.

So we have to thank the fans. We have to thank our media partners and everybody else. But everybody that supports the Celtics is funding these contracts. And that's why we all win it when we — we win together.

WAPNER: But it's Tatum for $314. It's Derrick White you just did for about $126, Jaylen Brown for $285 about a year ago.

Did you ever think that you would be writing checks this large for salaries?

(LAUGHTER)

GROUSBECK: No, I'm — I, like, need a brace on my wrist sometimes.

But it's a — if you're the Celtics ownership group, this is what you do. This is what the Celtics deserve. They deserve pride and they deserve support and investment and they deserve to win championships.

WAPNER: Here's a picture of you and Jayson Tatum with the trophy.

I read in an article that one of your partners, Steve Pagliuca, who I think our viewers are quite familiar with from his career in finance, has suggested that he'd like to be a part of the bidding process.

GROUSBECK: Yes.

WAPNER: Have you had conversations with him?

GROUSBECK: Yes. And Steve has been a terrific partner, really lead partner, a lead co-owner, I would say, in many ways, brought Danny Ainge to the table back in the day, when we first were thinking about hiring a general manager.

So, Steve has been great and is a great person. And we welcome him in, obviously, for sure, in the bidding process.

WAPNER: What about John Henry, another name I have — I have read?

GROUSBECK: I can't comment about anybody else, really, but I know John as a good personal friend.

And there will be — there will be great bidders. And we will be really — I think we're going to make it so we're very proud how it ends up.

WAPNER: Would you prefer that it's somebody who is Boston-based?

GROUSBECK: Well, I — your friend — my friend Rick Heitzmann is Philly-based, and maybe he could do it. He's part of the Yankees. Maybe he will — but, no, we would — we would like to find — we haven't even begun the process.

But the family has agreed to find a new ownership group coming in that will make everybody proud of the Celtics going forward.

WAPNER: When — when I throw out a number like I did with the Commanders going for $6 billion, is that number significant to you? Do you expect that this franchise could go for at least that, if not more?

GROUSBECK: I have really been focusing on the championship, because it's been a blur and it's been so much fun and the parade.

I haven't thought much about going forward, but I am a competitive guy. Why not? I mean, if you're going to keep score, keep score in everything.

WAPNER: Do you think valuations can — can sustain this path that they're on?

GROUSBECK: I'm very bullish on the NBA. We have a great partnership with our players.

We do work together. And that's just a true statement. The Celtics showed that this year, the teamwork, but it's a — it's a unified league and great players. It's global. And we're just getting started internationally. We're going to be bigger internationally than we are today.

For — three of the top picks of the draft all came from France this year. I mean, this is an international league; 35 percent or so of the league are international players. So, there's growth in the NBA domestically and overseas. And it's a great sport and a great partnership.

So I — I'm very bullish about the future.

WAPNER: So you don't feel in any way that you're getting out at what might be a top, right? We saw — we have seen five teams trade in the last couple of years.

GROUSBECK: Right.

WAPNER: I mean, I think the most recent one was the Mark Cuban deal.

GROUSBECK: Right.

I — here's what I think. We put in $200 million of equity 22 years ago for this. I mean, it really was literally 200 of equity. It's been a crazy ride. We won't repeat that in the future.

But I'm bullish about the NBA going forward. I think it's a — it's a sound investment. You should own this team if you love trying to be the best. You should own it for reasons of community and competing on the ground court.

But you know what? You — the finances can also work out.

WAPNER: Well, I mean, when you see the rights for the new TV contract, which are going to be probably $76 billion over 11 years, that, in and of itself, is going to send the salary cap soaring, is it not?

GROUSBECK: Right.

But so we split that. So it benefits the players. It benefits us. It benefits the entire structure of the NBA.

WAPNER: I want to talk about another sport, and that's golf, because you were part of the Strategic Sports Group that invested in the PGA Tour.

We're still waiting for a deal, a potential deal with PIF, the Saudis, and LIV. Is this going to happen or not?

GROUSBECK: I'm not at that table, so — and not really allowed to comment too in-depth.

I would say the general vibe is, there are — and it's been discussed publicly that the vibes are positive. There have been productive conversations, I think is the word. I think the general intent is, over time, legally, with the approval of relevant authorities, to unify golf, bring golf back, so you can just play golf, and not worry about this other stuff.

And maybe golf has new formats I'm really proud to be part of the Strategic Sports Group. I'm really proud to be now partnered with the PGA players. They are now equity owners in golf, in the PGA. So it's a lot like the NBA. That's why it sort of makes sense to be involved, because we have a partnership in the NBA.

And I can bring some of that thinking to the PGA.

WAPNER: How has your view on sports as an investable asset evolved over the years?

We see it. We just had our big announcement last week of this new vertical for us, CNBC Sport.

GROUSBECK: Yes. Yes.

WAPNER: No accident it happens —

GROUSBECK: I might be free to join it at some point.

WAPNER: Well, you might.

(LAUGHTER)

WAPNER: No accident that it happens when it does, because we see the power in sports as an investable asset.

GROUSBECK: So, we did this 22 years ago. We did the Celtics as, let's just not go broke and let's go win. Let's — this is for the love of the Celtics.

Now, years later, so my — nothing's changed. I just didn't expect the investment to perform like this. It wasn't the point. And it's an — I'm amazed. Now my view of it is, it's actually — there's reasons it's trading for this kind of thing. The enjoyment you can have from owning a team is so intense. You can't get it anywhere else.

So that's why they trade so high. But everything's evolved. Everything's changed in investing in sports. I still think there's room to be a bull and to be successful, but it's been — it's been a great run so far.

WAPNER: Well, congratulations.

GROUSBECK: Thanks, Scott.

WAPNER: I do have one more question.

And that is about what has become another love of yours. That's the tequila business —

GROUSBECK: Yes.

(LAUGHTER)

WAPNER: — which we discussed the last time.

GROUSBECK: We try not to sit still at my house, yes.

WAPNER: Obviously not.

(LAUGHTER)

WAPNER: Cincoro —

GROUSBECK: Yes.

WAPNER: — is the brand.

And it's evolved to the degree that you have now welcomed in other well-known investors, Serena Williams among them, Derek Jeter. I could go down the list, because there are several and they're very well-known to our viewers.

What's the endgame here?

GROUSBECK: Well, we started it — it's sort of like the Celtics. We started with Michael Jordan, Jeanie Buss, Wes Edens.

Emilia and I, Emilia Fazzalari and I started it with the goal of having a great tequila and giving it to our friends, really. And then we rolled it out. We sold two million bottles now.

It is a business, and it is not the easiest business. It is a business where you got to keep slugging it out. You got to go to every restaurant you see and every bar and say thank you and bring samples. And you got to work it.

WAPNER: Well, you got to elbow out other celebrities who have their own tequilas, right?

GROUSBECK: You got to elbow —

(LAUGHTER)

GROUSBECK: There's a lot of celebrity tequilas.

But with the new people coming in and investing and bringing their insight and their star power, the future is bright for Cincoro.

WAPNER: Well, we congratulate you on this great success.

GROUSBECK: Thank you, Scott.

WAPNER: And we wish you well in whatever your next act is.

GROUSBECK: Thanks, my friend.

WAPNER: And I have a feeling we will be covering it too.

That's Wyc Grousbeck here with us exclusively today on CNBC at Post 9.

END