The brand new Boston Celtics owners could already find themselves in trouble with the NBA as they prepare to defend the team from financial penalties for breaching the luxury tax line as the defending champions continue to splash the cash.
The side in second place in the Eastern Conference are currently approaching the $500m mark for their roster, which includes stars such as Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown and Jrue Holiday, who have all been signed to expensive and long-term deals.
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Combined, they’re dropping some $225m per year on their roster and they will be soon committed to spending money on the salary of a first-round pick and two players at the end of their minimum salaries.
Thus their payroll will reach a mind-boggling $233m per season, which is $45m over the NBA’s luxury tax line and could land the TD Garden-based franchise in deep water with the commissioner, Adam Silver.
From the 2025/26 NBA season, harsher penalties will be introduced for teams overspending and especially for those looking to take advantage of the rules, with the aim of creating a fairer competitive environment across the franchises.
So that’s already a problem for Celtics’ new owner, William Chisholm, to contend with. However, the managing director of Symphony Technology Group is worth over $6.1 billion so he could be able to afford it.
But it won’t be cheap. The defending NBA champions will pay an extra $280m under the luxury tax rules, meaning they will be spending over half a billion on their roster that season. It’s an expensive, but potentially necessary, sacrifice if they want to keep their dynasty together.
How could the Celtics respond?
Chisholm will also have Robert Hale and Bruce Beal Jr. to help offset those costs but it’s likely they will elect to trade their personnel away to bring down the salary figure to be closer to the tax line.
However, they are not permitted to trade away first-round picks in 2032 and 2033 to help other teams take the bait by picking up a mammoth contract to help the Eastern Conference side out with costs.
