The NBA is inching closer to its European dreams.
Last Friday, the league held a Board of Governors call to discuss the future of NBA Europe, including soliciting bids for the upstart league, which hopes to begin in Fall 2027. According to a report by Tom Friend in Sports Business Journal, the league hopes to “greenlight” NBA Europe during its next Board of Governors meeting in March, “assuming the bids overseas next month are attractive in terms of money and scope.”
Details about the new league are also coming to light. On Monday, it was revealed that, in addition to established European clubs like Barcelona or Bayern Munich tendering offers to join, any European club in a FIBA-affiliated league will be able to earn a merit-based spot through FIBA’s Basketball Champions League or an end-of-year qualifying tournament.
“The format of the league respects European sport model principles by offering any ambitious club in the continent a fair pathway to the top,” FIBA Secretary General Andreas Zagklis said in a statement on Monday.
NBA Europe will arrange its schedule around the current European basketball calendar to accommodate existing domestic leagues.
As previously reported, the NBA is seeking bids in the $500 million to $1 billion range to join the league. Revenue will be split 50-50 between current NBA owners and the owners of the NBA Europe clubs.
The new league will open up additional avenues for media rights revenue, both in the United States and abroad. NBA TV, the league-owned cable network, has already shown a willingness to air more international games as part of its programming mix. One would have to imagine the league would utilize NBA Europe to program the daytime hours on NBA TV. Of course, the more lucrative deals are likely to come from abroad.
Last month, Mark Tatum, the deputy commissioner of NBA Europe, suggested there would be a pathway for NBA Europe teams to compete in the NBA Cup.
In the NBA’s mind, this is likely just the start of its global ambitions.
About Drew Lerner
Drew Lerner is a staff writer for Awful Announcing and an aspiring cable subscriber. He previously covered sports media for Sports Media Watch. Future beat writer for the Oasis reunion tour.