As the Philadelphia Eagles prepare to play in their second Super Bowl in three years, their owner reportedly is making a strong push to purchase a championship franchise in a different sport.
Jeffrey Lurie, who’s owned the NFL’s Eagles since 1994, is among the “four or five” finalists to buy the Boston Celtics, The Ringer’s Bill Simmons reported on his podcast Sunday night.
The Celtics narrowed their pool of prospective buyers last week as they work to sell a 51% majority stake in the franchise by early this year.
“The precedent is that Josh Harris owned the Sixers and then bought Washington’s football team,” Simmons said on his podcast. “The Kroenkes own the Nuggets and they own the Rams. So there’s been a couple of NBA/NFL things. But I always thought the Eagles were one of the best-run football teams, right? So if he bought the Celtics, that’s a decent outcome.”
During Lurie’s ownership tenure, the Eagles rank sixth in the NFL in regular-season wins and tied for third in playoff wins, trailing only the New England Patriots and Green Bay Packers. They’ve reached four Super Bowls, winning one (over the Patriots in the 2017 season). Philadelphia will face Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs in Super Bowl LIX on Feb. 9.
Lurie also has strong local ties. He was born and raised in the Boston area and owns degrees from three Massachusetts universities (Clark, Boston University and Brandeis). He also worked as an assistant professor at BU before launching a business career in the film industry. Lurie founded Chestnut Hill Productions in the 1980s and bought the Eagles a decade later for $185 million.
The most recent estimate from Forbes pegged the 73-year-old Lurie’s net worth at $5.3 billion.
Shortly after defeating the Dallas Mavericks last June to win their 18th NBA title, the Celtics announced that their majority owners, the Grousbeck family, were putting the team up for sale, citing “estate and family planning considerations.” The team plans to sell a majority interest early this year and the remaining minority shares by 2028, with Wyc Grousbeck intending to remain on as team governor until the final closing.
One of Grousbeck’s managing partners, Steve Pagliuca, said shortly after the sale announcement he would “be a proud participant in the bidding process.” It’s unclear whether Pagliuca’s group also is among the finalists under consideration.