Fenway Sports Group have been linked with purchasing NBA team the

Liverpool owners Fenway Sports Group (FSG) are not in the fray to purchase a new team, reports suggest.

FSG boast an impressive portfolio that contains the Reds, iconic MLB side the Boston Red Sox and NHL outfit the Pittsburgh Penguins. The Boston-based firm have also recently been making moves in the world of golf. Last year, they spearheaded a consortium named the Strategic Sports Group that will invest up to $3 billion into the PGA Tour.

In addition, FSG purchased a franchise, named Boston Common, in the newly-launched Tomorrow’s Golf League that is led by Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy. John Henry & Co. also own a 50 per cent stake in NASCAR’s RFK Racing.

But FSG have long been linked with owning an NBA team. And when a team in FSG heartland came on the market, it was no surprise they were linked. The Grousbeck family put the Boston Celtics up for sale shortly after they claimed a record 18th championship last June. The New York Post suggested that FSG were ‘seriously considering bidding’ for the the Celtics. Basketball legend LeBron James, a minority stakeholder in FSG, has stated he wants to own a franchise when he brings the curtain down on his career.

The Boston Globe has suggested the bidding process has now come down to ‘four to five investment groups’. But MassLive has reported that ‘multiple industry sources’ say that FSG are not one of them. President Sam Kennedy insisted last September that buying the Celtics was not on FSG’s radar.

Although an NBA team in Boston looks off the cards, FSG have been strongly linked with expanding into basketball. The NBA is expected to expand from 30 to 32 franchises in the coming years - with Las Vegas earmarked as one city.

James, one of the greatest players of all times, has previously admitted that he would be keen to own a slice of an outfit in Sin City. Gerry Cardinale, the managing partner of RedBird Capital - who own an 11 per cent stake in FSG - revealed that talks have been held about owning an NBA team in Vegas.

Speaking at the Sports Business Journal’s Intercollegiate Athletics Forum in December 2023, Cardinale said: “We’re looking at bringing an NBA expansion team here in partnership with LeBron [James] and Fenway Sports Group. “We started this project three years ago. The price talk on an NBA team three years ago was $3 billion. The price talk today on an NBA expansion team is $5.5 to $6 billion. I’m not sure I can make that work.”