Overview
- A supermajority of the 13 EuroLeague shareholder clubs voted to reject the NBA’s formal merger proposal at a meeting in Cernobbio on Tuesday, citing worries about ceding control, low valuation and protecting club brands.
- Club owners agreed to convert their existing 10-year licenses into permanent franchises and to press ahead with plans to expand the EuroLeague toward a 24-team model.
- The NBA says it will continue developing an independent NBA Europe project aimed at a 16-team launch as early as 2027 but league officials and reporters say the start could slip to 2028 if no deal with EuroLeague is reached.
- Commercial stakes are high: French reports pegged a proposed payment around €400 million per future member while other reporting says the NBA has drawn more than 120 non-binding investor bids that in some cases topped $1 billion, and EuroLeague owners judged the NBA numbers insufficient.
- A split among top clubs looks possible because several benchmark teams remain open to NBA talks, a dynamic that could produce competing competitions, squeeze domestic schedules and reshape media-rights and sponsorship revenue across European basketball.