The NBA continues taking steps to establish itself in European basketball, and Mark Tatum, deputy commissioner of the North American league and right-hand man to Adam Silver, has once again made clear the ambitions of the NBA Europe project, which would arrive on the Old Continent hand in hand with FIBA.
During his speech at the Invest New York event, organized by Sportico, the executive addressed some of the economic and sporting keys to the future competition, which aims to transform the ecosystem of continental basketball and compete directly with the EuroLeague.
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The teams that are part of the current ecosystem are, frankly, tired of investing tens of millions of dollars every year without seeing the value of their franchises increase
One of the NBA’s main arguments is the economic potential it considers untapped in Europe. Tatum believes there is a huge gap between basketball’s popularity, the talent of its players, and the revenue it generates compared with other sports. According to the executive, this situation is causing growing discontent among the owners of Europe’s leading clubs.
“The launch of NBA Europe will drive incredible investment in infrastructure
“The teams that are part of the current ecosystem are, frankly, tired of investing tens of millions of dollars every year without seeing the value of their franchises increase. They are looking for a new economic partner,” Tatum said.
Franchises worth up to $1 billion in NBA Europe
The NBA maintains its ambition to attract major investments through a franchise model that would allow it to develop new markets and multiply the value of the participating clubs. Tatum expressed confidence that the most valuable franchises in NBA Europe could reach valuations close to $1 billion, a figure that reflects the economic scale of the project.
Expansion into markets with high commercial potential, such as the United Kingdom, currently outside the EuroLeague, is another of the competition’s major bets. In addition, another important factor relating to the economic side is the plan for distributing profits and rights to all participating teams.
The teams in the current ecosystem are looking for a new financial partner
The plan also envisages significant investments in sports infrastructure, one of the main shortcomings that the NBA identifies in European basketball. The construction and modernization of arenas capable of hosting major sporting and entertainment events would make it possible to develop new sources of revenue.
“The launch of this league will drive incredible investments in infrastructure. Let’s imagine there are between 30 and 40 home basketball nights. That leaves another 320 days to fill those venues with music, concerts, conferences, and other kinds of events,” he explained.
The NBA’s barb at the EuroLeague: “In essence, it is a closed league”
Beyond economic issues, Tatum also questioned the current functioning of European basketball, marked by the coexistence of the EuroLeague, the Basketball Champions League, the EuroCup and the different national competitions. In the executive’s view, this fragmentation creates a complex and poorly connected landscape.
In European sports, they want every club to be able to dream. It is something similar to the beauty of the FA Cup
The NBA had previously explored a possible collaboration with the EuroLeague, but the talks did not bear fruit and, in October, the owners of the clubs in the European competition voted against a potential alliance.
Compared with that model, NBA Europe is proposing, together with FIBA, a 16-team competition, with 12 permanent places and four others open through sporting qualification, offering clubs across the continent the possibility of accessing the new league via the Basketball Champions League and an end-of-season qualifying tournament among the best teams from domestic competitions, thus guaranteeing an open model and the aspirational possibility of participation for all projects.
“In European sport, they want all clubs to be able to dream. It’s something similar to the beauty of the FA Cup”, Tatum explained, invoking the historic English football tournament to defend the importance of keeping the doors of the competition open.
And he concluded with a direct criticism of the EuroLeague system: “Whereas the current model is, in essence, a closed league”.