Overview
- Adam Silver said the NBA has held discussions with Paris Saint‑Germain and confirmed recent talks with Real Madrid as it explores a new Europe‑based competition with FIBA.
- EuroLeague CEO Paulius Motiejunas criticized the plan, and the league has warned the NBA of potential legal action over outreach to shareholder clubs, while expressing confidence its 13 clubs will stay.
- Barcelona has indicated it will extend a new 10‑year EuroLeague license, with Real Madrid and ASVEL not publicly committing yet and opt‑out fees reported as higher than the historic €10 million figure before the June 30 paperwork deadline.
- The working model under discussion features 16 teams with roughly 12 permanent places and additional qualifiers via FIBA and domestic competitions, targeting an October 2027 start and naming cities including London, Manchester, Paris, Lyon, Madrid, Barcelona, Rome, Milan, Munich, Berlin, Athens and Istanbul.
- Silver said the project seeks significant outside capital, with advisers JPMorgan and The Raine Group engaged and franchise fees reported in the $500 million to $1 billion range, and he signaled openness to sovereign wealth and private equity investment.