Eagles owner to buy the Celtics? Jeffrey Lurie responds to speculation that he might buy the iconic NBA team

NEW ORLEANS — With the Boston Celtics up for sale, there had been some speculation that Eagles owner Jeffrey Lurie might step in and buy the iconic NBA franchise, but that likely won’t be happening. 

The idea of Lurie buying the team gained a lot of steam on Jan. 26 after Bill Simmons reported on his podcast that Lurie was in the “running” to buy the franchise, which has been owned by the Boston Basketball Partners group since 2002. 

During an appearance at Super Bowl Opening Night on Monday, the Eagles owner was asked directly if he was interested in buying the Celtics and Lurie shot quickly shot down the speculation. 

“I’m not really interested in acquiring another sports team,” the Eagles owner told a small group of reporters, including CBS Sports. 

Lurie is from Boston and he’s a huge Celtics fan, but he doesn’t want to divert any focus away from the Eagles, who are in the Super Bowl for the fourth time since he bought them back in 1995. 

“I think it’s connected because they’re my childhood team,” Lurie said of the Celtics speculation. “I’ve got a tremendous amount of respect for their whole culture. I sort of see them as kind of a kindred soul in the NBA.”

The Celtics ownership group surprisingly announced on July 1 that it would be selling the team. Lurie is a fan of owner Wyc Grousbeck, but he’s not interested in taking over for the Celtics’ majority stakeholder. 

“Wyc has been an outstanding owner,” Lurie said. “I’ve love the way they’ve developed that team and we’ve got to celebrate so many banners over the years. It’s not something that’s top of mind and my whole focus is on my love of the Eagles and to win another Super Bowl for Philadelphia.”

Although Lurie doesn’t sound interested in buying the Celtics right now, he did leave the door slightly open. The 73-year-old said he would “never say never” when it comes to possibly buying the franchise at some point. 

That being said, Lurie ended his answer with six emphatic words, “I do not expect that to happen,” Lurie said of a purchase. 

With Lurie out of the running, the Celtics will have to look elsewhere for a new owner. You can read more about their pending sale here.