By Eurohoops team / info@eurohoops.net
EuroLeague CEO Chus Bueno said discussions with the NBA remained possible despite club owners rejecting a collaboration proposal at their October 6 meeting at Lake Como.
With the NBA planning to launch a European league in 2027, Bueno told Reuters that any agreement would need to protect EuroLeague’s interests.
“We had some conversations after Como. And the position of the owners was very clear. We will always be open to listen, and to talk with the NBA about any potential deal. But it has to make sense for us,” Bueno said.
He declined to disclose the proposal’s terms but left the door open to a different arrangement.
“The telephone lines are open and, if something has not worked, maybe there’s something that can work in the future.”
Bueno warned that competing leagues would divide the market and undermine its value.
“If they decide to (enter into the market), it’s going to be a disaster. And they know, we know, and we don’t want that. If you are divided, you lose value, and then some third party benefits. One of the things that we don’t want is more fragmentation.”
EuroLeague is pursuing its own expansion to 24 teams, with up to eight long-term franchise licences and an announcement of new participants expected in mid-November. Bueno said the strategy should improve clubs’ finances, with only 40% of current licence holders financially sustainable.
“I think that in five years with this expansion, we could be in a position where most, if not all, of them will be (financially) sustainable.”
All 13 shareholder clubs have signed 10-year franchise agreements linked to that plan. Bueno considers departures unlikely and pointed to the financial consequences of leaving.
“If they want to leave, they have a penalty they can pay, and then the clubs can also ask for individual damages. They will lose the €80 million-plus that they have in shares.”
Returning would carry an additional cost.
“But if they ever want to come back, they will have to pay whatever number it is when they ask to come back.”
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