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There are legitimate pro teams in each of those cities already, other than Rome, but not all of those teams may apply for a license. Two high-ranking basketball officials, one with the NBA in the U.S. and another in Europe, said the NBA wants “to start with a clean slate” in London, where it could cost a new team more than $1 billion to obtain a license. “Just walking the streets here and being in the hotels, I hear from people all the time saying, ‘I’m sleep deprived following your league,’ (in the U.S.),” Silver told The Athletic during an interview in London, prior to the Memphis Grizzlies-Orlando Magic game at London’s O2 Arena.
“There are more people approaching us and saying, ‘I’d love to have the London franchise,’ and I think it’s not just because it’s such an attractive market, but because there’s no top-tier basketball team right now,” Silver continued. “So, there’s lots of groups seeing an opportunity to create a new brand here.” For the NBA, the London discussion is one of the sheer size, wealth and untapped basketball potential of the market. There are numerous potential suitors. Soccer powerhouses like Arsenal or Chelsea could create a team. The Saudi Arabia Public Investment Fund could do it. As could investment firms like Sixth Street.
FC Barcelona traveled to London to learn firsthand about the NBA's proposal . Josep Cubells, the section's top executive, and Jordi Trías, who joined the sporting department a few months ago, participated in a meeting that included Pau Gasol as part of an attempt to entice the club, but the meeting offered few new developments or concrete details . Barça, and perhaps it's significant that this meeting with Silver and his team didn't change anything, has a clear position: EuroLeague (which will be ratified by the board of directors), without completely closing the door on the new competition… but only once it has taken shape or is clearly going to do so. Why take the risk before then? The buyout clauses for those who have renewed, or will renew, their EuroLeague contracts until 2036 are the same as in previous contracts: ten million euros .
The game in Berlin served as a platform for Silver to demonstrate on the court that Alba, who left the EuroLeague after several years of very poor results, are fully committed to the project, now with team infrastructure and one of the few NBA-caliber arenas in Europe, the Uber Arena , where the Grizzlies and Magic recently played. In the move to London, another long-standing shadow also appeared: that of Paris Saint-Germain, with its football parent company linked to Qatari money . This business with the Middle East, currently limited by NBA agreements, is one of the obvious areas the American competition is focusing on. However, it seems that PSG is willing to listen… but not to invest, not on a large scale . Not at all, or so it seems right now, anything close to the price for a franchise in the new competition that Bloomberg has just placed at €1 billion .
Investment firm Qatar Sports Investments, which owns soccer giant Paris St. Germain, has been linked to Silver’s venture for Paris and is just one of the groups interested in either partnering with existing basketball clubs or starting new teams in targeted cities. According to league sources, investment groups with ownership of five percent or less of an NBA team will be permitted to own an NBA Europe team.
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Silver also confirmed that he has spoken to Real Madrid, Barcelona and Paris St-Germain as he looks to mix established European teams with new ones. However, reports say the existing EuroLeague - which features Real and Barcelona - has concerns about the new venture, threatening legal action against the NBA should clubs break existing agreements to take part in the new competition.
Alba Berlin was never an “A” license holder in the EuroLeague, which means it was never a permanent member. There are 13 of them, and though most have re-signed license agreements with the EuroLeague for the next decade, European sources believe there is an out clause in those agreements worth roughly $10 million, which could allow those clubs to join Silver’s venture. To that end, Silver said Thursday he’d had discussions with Real Madrid owners (an “A” license holder), and said NBA Hall of Famer Tony Parker, who is majority owner of the ASVEL club (near Lyon), is on a board of former players advising him on Europe. But the EuroLeague is also threatening legal action against the NBA and FIBA if they try to recruit teams under contract.
"The funding would potentially come from, at least initially, the member clubs of the league," Silver said. "I think similar to any startup venture, the participants would be the investors, and over time would hope to seek a return. ... I think if we were to successfully launch this new league, it will take a while, I think, before it is a viable commercial enterprise. I think all the participants recognize that this is not for those who have a short-term perspective." Also part of the plan: New arenas would be needed in certain markets, which will obviously take time and more money. "What we are telling interested parties is that you need to have a very long-term perspective," Silver said.
After meeting with Goodell, Benson and Landry will then visit Silver at NBA offices on Tuesday to document plans for a major renovation of the Smoothie King Center, the lynchpin for a long-term lease extension between the team and state. The project, which is still in the conceptual stage, would involve the transformation of Champions Square into a refurbished and reimagined entertainment district.
“As I’ve said before, domestic expansion … is selling equity in this current league,” Silver said. “If you own 1/30 of this league, now you own 1/32 if you add two teams. So it’s a much more difficult economic analysis. In many ways, it requires predicting the future.” Earlier this summer, Silver acknowledged both the desire for expansion and the challenges that come with trying to serve fans everywhere. “We recognize there are underserved markets in the United States and elsewhere,” he said. “And I think markets that deserve to have NBA teams, probably even, if we were to expand, more than we can serve.”
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With Stateside expansion finally coming into view, the league is also eyeing opportunities abroad. Many of the league’s current stars hail from Europe, and the NBA has partnered with FIBA for an international league. Silver went to Europe this summer with deputy commissioner Mark Tatum exploring cities and meeting with teams and politicians to discuss a new league on the continent with cities such as London, Paris, and Madrid being considered as potential markets.
At the Front Office Sports Tuned In event in September, Silver said the goal is to launch the league within the next “two to three years,” but pointed to European arena infrastructure and regulatory issues as hurdles the league is currently working through. “I would say we’re casting a very, very wide net right now and essentially saying to anyone who’s interested, come see our bankers, explain to us why you’re interested, how you view the opportunity, what resources you would put behind opening a team,” Silver explained on Tuesday. “And then we’re taking all that information back, and then I think sometime in late January … we’ll be in a position to have more serious conversations with those interested parties.”
Source have said that the NBA is seeking between $500M and $1B for NBA Europe franchise fees, and Silver reiterated Tuesday night that the possibilities include “soccer clubs, some who have basketball teams, some who don’t have basketball teams, existing basketball organizations who potentially would be interested in joining our league. We’re talking to other organizations or individuals who don’t own any team who would be interested if we expanded to Europe, looking at opportunities.”
Appearing on Prime’s pregame coverage of the NBA Cup Final between the New York Knicks and San Antonio Spurs, Silver expressed why he thought the Prime Video studio of Taylor Rooks, Dirk Nowitzki, Steve Nash, Blake Griffin, and Udonis Haslem was “fantastic” compared to others broadcasting the league. “By the way, in all honesty, I love the chemistry of you guys. I mean, obviously, it’s why you did so well in a team sport. The chemistry’s fantastic,” Silver began. “And I also will just say quickly, as a fan, I think you do a great job educating other fans about the game because that, I would say, has frustrated me in the past about some coverage when it’s sort of reduced to ‘one side wanted it more’ or ‘this side played harder.’ When you guys are explaining, like, why can’t a guy get a shot off, why is a particular defense working, I think the studio you guys built is off the charts. And I think the technology that you’re using- when you guys go out on the floor to demonstrate things, I can say as a fan I love that part of the coverage.”