By Aris Barkas/ barkas@eurohoops.net
The NBA and FIBA are moving forward with their European plan; the clock is ticking, and it remains to be seen whether there will be a deal with the EuroLeague.
Once more, deputy commissioner Mark Tatum spent most of his meeting with the international media talking not only about the NBA finals, but also about the upcoming new league in Europe.
Tatum confirmed that the talks with the EuroLeague are continuing and also that the project remains on track for a 2027 October tip-off, no matter what may happen in those talks.
As he explained: “We’re also making tremendous progress on a new league in Europe and are in the final stages ahead of our planned October 2027 launch. In partnership with FIBA, we’ve developed a model that we think will significantly benefit fans, clubs and players. So, we’ve communicated to the clubs and ownership groups that we’re talking to that final bids are due by the end of this month, after which we’ll engage with our NBA Board, and FIBA will go through their process as well”.
Doncic and EuroLeague
Tatum once more repeated that there are also talks with existing EuroLeague teams and new investors, while adding that the NBA will not extract value or money from European basketball: “I think that’s a complete mischaracterization of the model, and that’s where, again, over the last two months we’ve been having direct conversations with clubs for them to understand that this model is built to create long–term value for teams and for European basketball, and that this is not about extracting value. As I said before, a huge percentage of the economics will go to teams. A huge percentage of the investment from franchise fees will go back into investment in European basketball. So, it is just not true that this money will get extracted back to the United States. And those are the conversations that we’re having with the different clubs to understand the investment that we plan to make to launch this league successfully in marketing. It will be one of the largest marketing campaigns, when we launch this league, not just in sports, but of any consumer brand, period. [In terms of] operations, we expect that there will be early losses here, so the money from the franchise fees will help to fund those early losses, which really reduces risk for teams. It means that they don’t have to contribute additional capital upfront.
So, we’re going to deploy that capital on strategic investments, including infrastructure and funding of grassroots development programs throughout the European basketball ecosystem. That’s what we’re communicating to the potential investors, and that’s really, really resonating. So, it’s a mischaracterization and it’s just flat–out false that the vast majority of the money will get extracted back to the United States. The vast majority of that money, call it 85 to 90% of the economics, will stay in Europe. I just want to make sure that’s very, very clear.
The other thing I would say is we’re also building a system that is going to benefit the European clubs and the European fans. This system will be more of a merit–based system than what currently exists today where there’s a clear pathway for clubs to be able to play into our league. That creates more transparency, more meaningful games and stronger incentives to invest, which really benefits the entire basketball ecosystem. So, our partner in FIBA – the Basketball Champions League will play an important part in this. Assuming an October 2027 launch, for example, this upcoming BCL season, the winner would be a qualifier for our top–tier league. So, that’s a very, very important point of how the entire ecosystem here will become aligned and will benefit”.
Tatum also made a special mention to Luka Doncic and the new team in Rome in conjunction with the EuroLeague talks: “It’s amazing, right, to have someone like Luka, who played in the EuroLeague, interested in European basketball. We met with him, and he talked about it being a dream of his to own a team in Europe and then one day potentially in our league. So, he’s very excited about our project. We talked to him about our project, and it’s fantastic to see the level of enthusiasm and interest he has for our project, right? Luka is a player who played in the EuroLeague system. He understands it and I think he recognizes the need for a construct and a system that we’ve proposed and we’re proposing here. So, he was very supportive of our initiatives there.
I would say with the EuroLeague, we remain in active discussions with the EuroLeague, and we continue to pursue a constructive, collaborative, and aligned outcome across the entire European ecosystem. We’ve been consistent in that, in believing that all the parties should align here for the best interest of basketball. That being said, we’re also realistic, and if we can’t figure that out, we’re ready to proceed with our partners and investors including with FIBA. Alongside FIBA, with their help and their leadership, we do plan to meet with the EuroLeague leadership again here in the next couple of weeks. But again, we’ve explained, and I think everyone in the EuroLeague system – both the clubs and the league – understand that the only way to guarantee a permanent spot in our league will be through the bid process and through a successful bid for a permanent franchise through our investment process. We are in active engagement with many of those clubs today and are making good progress there. So that’s the status”.
Timeline remains the same
Asked by Eurohoops about the timeline of the project, Tatum clarified that nothing has changed, even if there’s no specific date yet about an official announcement for the new league and the clubs that will be part of it: “We’re in the final stages right now. Final bids are due this month, and then after that we are going to have to go through our process. We’ll talk to our Board, and FIBA will talk to its board and go through its process as well, so we’re right on track. I won’t give you a specific timeline because we’ve got to negotiate and finalize negotiations with several of these clubs and come to agreement, but we are right on track for our planned launch of October 2027.”
Given the phased approach, any agreements on final terms and subsequent announcements about the launch of the league and participating teams are expected to happen on a rolling basis.
Tatum also reaffirmed that the NBA, in partnership with FIBA, will proceed with their project, even if there’s no deal with the EuroLeague, clarifying again that every club in the new competition must make a successful bid: “We’ve expressed to the EuroLeague, and we’ve talked to them about [how] the only way to guarantee a permanent spot in our league is through a successful bid for permanent franchise. But as I said earlier, we’re also ready to proceed with our partners and investors if we can’t come to some sort of an agreement. It would not be ideal, obviously, but we feel like we’ve got enough investors who are committed to growing and investing in European basketball, along with our partners with FIBA, that we would be ready to proceed with our partners and investors.”
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