The proposed NBA Europe league could tempt American superstars to join them late in their careers, like Lionel Messi’s move to MLS in July 2023
The NBA is accelerating its plans to expand across the Atlantic, a project that commissioner Adam Silver sees as his legacy and which is slated to launch in October 2027.
European soccer clubs including giants Real Madrid, AC Milan, Paris Saint-Germain and Manchester City are all interested in launching NBA Europe franchises, with buy-in expected to cost their owners anywhere between $500m to $1bn-plus.
The proposals presented to investors are fluid, but the current plan would see 12 permanent franchises in major cities throughout the continent, plus four qualifiers annually from partner competitions. The ultimate vision is to eventually scale to 24 teams in total.
EuroLeague, Europe’s top basketball division currently, is open to working with the NBA and allowing its teams – which include soccer spin-offs from Madrid, Barcelona, Bayern Munich, AS Monaco, Olympiacos, Panathinaikos and Fenerbahce – to enter.
The NBA has reportedly pledged $3bn in start-up funds to cover losses incurred by the league in its first few years while it finds its feet with branding, broadcast deals and in-person audiences.
In the plan’s current set-up, NBA Europe franchises will be barred from signing players from America unless they are out of contract. That has led to pushback from some would-be investors, who argue that some stardust will be needed to jump-start the league.
MLS broke the bank and its own financial rules to bring Messi, widely considered the greatest player in the history of soccer, to Miami. And it has paid dividends, generating unprecedented global interest in the league and a $2.5bn streaming deal with Apple. Whether the interest translates into sell-out crowds at this summer’s World Cup in spite of exorbitant ticket prices remains to be seen.
So, could NBA Europe echo that strategy by signing a bona fide superstar at the tail end of their career to launch the competition?
“Players will go to NBA Europe, but the elite players will stay in the NBA,” says sports business expert Kieran Maguire, Professor of Football Finance at University of Liverpool in the UK, speaking exclusively to HITC.
“The only exception is if they want to sign the next Lionel Messi in terms of going to Europe late in their careers in exchange for a huge salary and an equity stake in a franchise.
“It’s all driven by broadcast revenues and you’ll never get NBA Europe’s broadcast revenues to rival European football’s because football is far too established on the continent.
“There is interest in basketball in Europe rather than a devotion to the sport, so I don’t think it will be a competitor to the NBA. They won’t have to increase their wages because of the threat of European competition.
“Could it have an impact on the draft? I can’t see it getting the same kind of traction that the draft enjoys culturally in the US.”
Read more:
