The Philadelphia Phillies have been one of baseball’s model franchises since they were purchased by John Middleton in 2016. With a willingness to spend money to upkeep the franchise and bring in big-name talent, the Phillies have made the playoffs in each of the past three seasons, including a World Series appearance in 2022.
While the Phillies haven’t taken home a championship under the current ownership group, the infrastructure is in place to make it happen. But while Middleton is comfortable where he’s at, a fellow owner is looking to expand his portfolio and could make a surprising purchase of an NBA franchise.
Phillies Owner Leading Bid To Purchase NBA’s Boston Celtics
According to a report by Sportico’s Eben Novy-Williams and Scott Soshnick, Phillies co-owner Stan Middleman is leading one of four bids in the running to purchase the NBA’s Boston Celtics. The report states that all four groups have reportedly completed management presentations with the franchise ahead of the deadline for the next round of bids at the end of this week.
Middleman entered the Phillies ownership group when he purchased a 16.25% stake in the franchise in 2023. While the Phillies do not have a majority owner, Middleton has the largest stake, leaving Middleman, who is the founder and CEO of Freedom Mortgage, without a path to become the controlling partner of the Phillies.
With Middleton in his 70s and in good health, buying the Celtics would be a smart business decision for the Middleman.
According to CNBC’s official NBA team valuations, the Celtics are estimated at $5.5 billion and take home $452 million in revenue. That report also adds that the average value of an NBA team is worth $4.66 billion, which is nearly double the $2.4 billion average worth of an MLB franchise according to a 2024 report by Forbes.
The Boston Globe also estimates the upcoming sale could exceed $6 billion and could also flirt with the highest sum for a North American franchise, beating Josh Harris’s $6.05 billion price tag for the NFL’s Washington Commanders in 2023. But the bidding could also be complicated as the Celtics do not own their arena, TD Garden, or their local media partner, NBC Sports Boston.
Sportico reports that a bid by current Celtics minority owner Steve Paglicua is the frontrunner to purchase the team but Middleman’s bid, which is also headed by Symphony Technology Group managing Partner William Chisholm, is in the mix. A potential sale likely won’t affect the Phillies on the field but could have an interesting wrinkle in the team’s ownership structure moving forward.