Bloomberg Business of Sports: "Boston Celtics Now Most Valuable Team, Betting on March Madness"

Date: March 21, 2025
Hosts: Michael Barr, Vanessa Perdomo, Damian Sassour
Guests: Randall Williams (Bloomberg Sports Business Reporter), Ira Budway (Bloomberg News Global Business of Sports Reporter), Adam Greenblatt (BetMGM CEO)

Overview

This episode breaks down two of the biggest financial stories in sports:

1. The historic $6.1B sale of the Boston Celtics—now the world's most valuable sports team.
2. The evolving landscape of college athletics, from a $3B NCAA legal settlement to the booming market for betting on men’s and women’s March Madness, with a focused discussion on surging women’s betting interest and regulatory changes in college sports.

The Boston Celtics’ $6.1 Billion Sale

Key Points

• Historic Sale: The Celtics were sold for $6.1B to a group led by Bill Chisholm, making it the most expensive sports franchise transaction ever.
• No Stadium Ownership: The Celtics do not own their stadium, which was seen as a significant caveat to the deal.
• Implications for NBA Expansion: The sale price sets a benchmark for future NBA expansion fees and potential franchise sales, particularly in markets like Las Vegas and Seattle.
• Extraordinary ROI: The previous owners (Boston Basketball Partners, led by Wyc Grousbeck) purchased the Celtics in 2002 for $360M—netting a nearly 17x return in 23 years.

Discussion Highlights & Quotes

• Historical Context:
  • Michael Barr: “Gee, something happened with the Boston Celtics.” (03:50)
  • Randall Williams: “Looks like they're sold. $6.1 billion to Bill Chisholm.” (03:54)
• Benchmark Setting:
  • Randall Williams: “$6 billion without a stadium is a lot of money... This is setting the table for NBA expansion.” (04:22)
• Insider Details & Future of Team Ownership:
  • Randall Williams: “They said that they were going to sell this in two phases, 51% and 49%... Bill Chisholm... is going to purchase the rest of the team at a later date.” (07:16)
• On Iconic Franchises Surpassing This Record:
  • Randall Williams: “There will be a team that eventually surpasses this. The team to do it will have to be an iconic franchise in a big market.” (09:04)
• ROI Comparison:
  • Vanessa Perdomo: “Wyc Grousbeck bought the team in 2002 for 360 million. 6.1 billion... 17x in 23 years... I'm looking up Nvidia stock, right?” (06:09)

Timestamps

• Celtics sale announcement and context — 03:49–06:38
• Impact on expansion/benchmark for other leagues — 04:22–05:45
• Ownership changes and multi-phase deal — 07:08–07:33
• Comparing return on investment — 06:09–07:53

The Changing College Sports Financial Landscape

Key Points

• NCAA Settlement: A class-action settlement (pending approval) would pay $2.8B to former athletes and allow schools to pay up to 22% of athletic revenue directly to players.
• Enforcement & Regulation: Deloitte will run a clearinghouse to vet all significant NIL (Name, Image, Likeness) deals—aimed at establishing “fair market value” and reducing “pay to play” abuses.
• The Future is Uncertain: Whether true collective bargaining agreements (CBAs) in college sports are possible remains to be seen, given legal and logistical hurdles.

Discussion Highlights & Quotes

• Ira Budway: “This class action suit is supposed to be finalized in April... schools will now be able to pay players directly up to 22% of their athletic revenue.” (16:31)
• Enforcement Complexity:
  • Ira Budway: “If you have a deal of more than $600, you have to bring it to the clearinghouse... [Deloitte] is going to look at the deal... is this actually just the money that they're trying to pay you to come play for their school? If they think it's too much, they're going to throw it out.” (18:16)
  • Damian Sassour: “How do you wrangle all this together? This all kind of developed organically and there's no real regulatory body...” (18:07)
• Impact on Competitive Balance:
  • Ira Budway: “They're trying to make it a relatively level playing field, which is the whole point of salary caps and salary structures and professional sports in general.” (22:15)
  • Ira Budway: “The CBA as a structure is obviously the solution to all of these problems... But how you port that to college sports, no one's figured out yet.” (24:17)
• The Bottom Line for Athletes:
  • Michael Barr: “You got to build a name first to cash in on [NIL], which means you’ve got to play the doggone game. And if you don’t play the game, you don’t build a name.” (25:12)
  • Ira Budway: “The argument is this is antitrust behavior, like you're being a monopolist. If you tell people they can't sign a deal, how does the NCAA have the authority to tell two parties that they can't make a deal for as much money as they feel like?” (22:15)

Timestamps

• NCAA settlement and NIL regulation explained — 16:20–24:13
• NIL enforcement and challenges — 18:16–22:15
• CBAs and the future of college athlete pay — 24:13–26:56

March Madness: The Business & Betting Boom

Key Points

• Explosive Growth in Women’s Betting: BetMGM saw a 30% YoY increase in women’s college basketball bets, with a staggering 750% growth over two years—the fastest in any sports betting sector.
• Changing Audience: March Madness especially draws more recreational, less experienced bettors, leading to a 20% rise in pre-game bets vs. in-play betting.
• Expanding Betting Options: BetMGM is offering more player props and in-game markets, including for women’s games, and partnering with media brands like The GIST to reach new, largely female sports fans.

Discussion Highlights & Quotes

• The “Cinderella” Effect:
  • Adam Greenblatt: “The public [is] captivated by those Cinderella stories and really investing behind them.” (31:30)
• Boom in Women’s Sports Betting:
  • Adam Greenblatt: “This year we’ve seen a 30% year on year increase in bets on women’s college basketball... Over the past two years, we’ve experienced more than 750% increase in bets on the women’s college game.” (32:29)
• New Partnerships and Audience Insights:
  • Adam Greenblatt: “We’ve partnered for The GIST to provide social media content during the women’s tournament... 71% of the GIST’s readership has expressed interest in sports betting.” (32:29)
• Trends & Product Offerings:
  • Adam Greenblatt: “We have something for everybody... free to play games, bracket challenges, singles bets, parlays... You can even bet whether teams are going to score in the first minute or how many dunks there will be.” (30:00)
• Recreational Bettors’ Impact:
  • Adam Greenblatt: “We see about a 20% increase in the proportion of pre-game bets during March Madness because the audience is much, much wider.” (35:29)

Timestamps

• Betting landscape and BetMGM products — 29:34–32:13
• Growth and data on women’s sports betting — 32:13–36:03
• March Madness audience and pre-game betting trends — 35:29
• International perspective and upcoming soccer World Cup — 36:29–38:25

Notable & Memorable Quotes

• “$6 billion without a stadium is a lot of money... This is setting the table for NBA expansion.” — Randall Williams (04:22)
• “17x in 23 years... I’m looking up Nvidia stock, right?” — Vanessa Perdomo (06:09)
• “Over the past two years, we've experienced more than 750% increase in bets on the women's college game.” — Adam Greenblatt (32:29)
• “You’ve got to build a name first to cash in on that, which means you’ve got to play the doggone game. And if you don’t play the game, you don’t build a name.” — Michael Barr (25:12)
• “The CBA as a structure is obviously the solution to all of these problems... But how you port that to college sports, no one's figured out yet.” — Ira Budway (24:17)

Episode Structure & Flow

1. Boston Celtics’ sale and implications for sports valuations and league expansions (03:50–14:09)
2. NCAA legal settlement and future of athlete compensation, NIL, and regulatory efforts (15:37–27:49)
3. March Madness betting boom, with a deep dive into women's sports wagering, new products, and audience dynamics (28:57–40:11)

Summary Takeaway

This episode showcases how the business of sports is driven by unprecedented valuations, legal and regulatory disruption (especially in college athletics compensation), and surging fan interest in women's sports and sports betting. The Celtics’ record sale marks a new era in team valuations, the NCAA settlement signals seismic change in athlete compensation, and March Madness—especially the women’s tournament—is driving record betting interest and new business models, underscoring sports’ transformation into a multi-billion dollar, fast-evolving financial sector.