Jeffrey Lurie 'in the running' to buy Boston Celtics

Jeffrey Lurie's Eagles are headed to the Super Bowl for the fourth time under his ownership, making him one of the most successful owners in modern NFL history.

His NFL success would set Lurie up to be an attractive potential buyer in another sports league if he had interest in getting in. And Bill Simmons of The Ringer says that Lurie is indeed pursuing the Boston Celtics: 

Mentioned this near the end of tonight’s podcast: Eagles owner Jeffrey Lurie is in the running to buy the Boston Celtics. He’s a Boston native w/ degrees from Clark, Brandeis AND B.U. His first big company was called Chestnut Hill Productions. Huge Celts fan obviously.

— Bill Simmons (@BillSimmons) January 27, 2025

It's unclear if Lurie — whom Forbes estimates is worth $5.3 billion — would be able to place the highest bid for the Celtics considering a lot of his net worth is likely tied to owning the Eagles. With that said, Lurie did have his sale of a minority stake of the Eagles approved by the NFL last month. Lurie and his minority owners sold 8% of the Eagles at a valuation of $8.3 billion. At the time, it was fair to wonder if the 73-year-old was doing that for estate planning purposes, though it's possible he was trying to give himself more liquid assets to pursue a move like this: 

The NFL has approved the sale of 8 percent of the Philadelphia Eagles to two family investment groups. The valuation is huge -- $8.3 billion, for the sale, which is for a portion of the team alone. Jeffrey Lurie retains control of the team.

— Judy Battista (@judybattista) December 11, 2024

Lurie is from Boston, and attended three universities in Massachusetts — Clark University, Boston University and Brandeis University. Before buying the Eagles in 1994 for $195 million, Lurie had pursued the New England Patriots, the franchise he grew up rooting for. Ultimately, Robert Kraft purchased the team, but less than a year later Lurie placed the winning bid to acquire the Eagles. 

It would be interesting to see how the perception of Lurie might change, if at all, should he buy the Celtics. There are a large contingent of fans in Philadelphia who don't like that Sixers' owner Josh Harris also owns the Washington Commanders and New Jersey Devils, two teams that rival local clubs. But Lurie has a much longer track record of success in Philadelphia, and is generally seen as more likable. Still, the Celtics are arguably the biggest rivals of the Sixers.