The future of elite club basketball in Europe has been thrown into sharp relief following a high-stakes summit in Italy, where the continent’s premier competition took definitive steps to protect its territory. Euroleague has officially confirmed sweeping plans to overhaul its financial and governance structures, transitioning away from its traditional licensing model toward a permanent franchise framework.
In a simultaneous and critical development during the meeting, the 13 permanent shareholder clubs of the pancontinental competition voted to formally turn down an integration and collaboration proposal put forward by the National Basketball Association (NBA). According to reports from Gazzetta dello Sport, the NBA’s joint venture proposal was made strictly conditional on Euroleague abandoning its internal ambitions to transition into a franchise-based system and expand its footprint to a 24-team competition.
The rejection sets the stage for a compelling contest over the commercial and sporting direction of European basketball. The US-based global basketball leader has spent months trailing a long-awaited update regarding its own prospective 16-team European league. Backed by the International Basketball Federation (Fiba), the NBA has targeted an ambitious October 2027 launch date for its new continental competition, putting it on an inevitable collision course with Euroleague’s established ecosystem.
Despite the rejection of the NBA’s specific terms, the adversarial dynamic between the two organizations has shown signs of tactical nuance. Euroleague’s institutional posture has softened notably since the arrival of long-serving former NBA executive Jesus “Chus” Bueno, who stepped in as chief executive in January. Bueno has adopted a distinctly more cooperative tone regarding the NBA project than his predecessor, Paulius Motiejunas. Consequently, outlets including The Athletic have reported that Euroleague officials and leadership remain fundamentally open to continued dialogue with their American counterparts, leaving the door ajar for future alignment if terms can be mutually reconciled.
The Euroleague Franchise Era
Faced with the mounting prospect of the NBA encroaching directly on its traditional markets and commercial strongholds, Euroleague has pivoted swiftly. Over recent months, the organization has shifted from an initial stance of outright opposition toward a strategy of tactical consolidation and financial fortification.
Speaking at the SportsPro Investment Summit in July, Bueno addressed the looming shadow of the NBA head-on, asserting that all key stakeholders "should be open and not be afraid" of exploring a partnership, given the massive collective commercial rewards potentially on offer. Concurrently, however, Bueno’s administration has pressed forward with a comprehensive package of internal updates designed to provide member clubs with enhanced market leverage and long-term economic security.
Under the current setup, 20 teams contest the Euroleague each season. Thirteen of these clubs hold permanent membership through ten-year A-licences, granting them a controlling majority stake in the competition’s commercial arm, Euroleague Commercial Assets (ECA). Remaining participants secure access through athletic success in domestic competitions or via the second-tier EuroCup.
Over the summer, ECA developed an ambitious framework to convert those existing ten-year licences into permanent equity franchises. Market interest was systematically canvassed using individual valuations ranging from €60 million to €320 million. The structural rollout was designed to begin with the 13 incumbent licensees, with an additional eight franchises slated to become available ahead of the 2027/28 season.
According to Bueno, preliminary agreements were already established to facilitate the conversion of the A-licence clubs during the 2026/27 campaign. These franchise opportunities were offered on a discounted, first-refusal basis directly to existing team owners.
However, with clubs voting at the recent Italian meeting to temporarily hold off on expanding the EuroLeague to 24 teams for the upcoming cycle, the exact timeline for issuing those additional eight franchises remains fluid. Euroleague confirmed to Reuters that it had already received 14 distinct bids for those expanded holdings, representing a cumulative total of more than €800 million in proposed franchise fees.
Ultimately, this week’s decisive vote deepens the structural ties between the permanent member clubs and the central Euroleague body. Leadership under Bueno hopes these moves will decisively elevate the asset value of participating clubs and safeguard the competition’s long-term commercial footing.
NBA Europe Emerges
While Euroleague consolidates its internal foundations, the NBA has continued to advance its parallel vision for a rival European ecosystem. The NBA first went public with its detailed blueprint for a new European competition in November 2025, and the broad structural parameters have remained remarkably consistent since inception.
The blueprint outlines a 16-team league anchored by 12 permanent franchise members, supplemented by qualified entrants from domestic leagues and the Fiba Basketball Champions League. Fiba’s primary European competition has operated as a competitor to Euroleague since its launch in 2016, following a historic schism that saw Euroleague break away from the international federation in 2000 to manage its own premier tournament.
Targeted host cities earmarked for NBA Europe franchises include major metropolitan hubs such as Paris, Lyon, London, Manchester, Rome, Madrid, Barcelona, Athens, Istanbul, Milan, Munich, and Berlin. Several of these key locations already host established EuroLeague clubs, while ambitious entities like the London Lions have openly pursued a pathway into continental competition via the EuroCup.
While concrete operational details have been sparse over the past two years, the NBA has consistently highlighted immense institutional and private investor curiosity. Major media reports have indicated expressed interest from over 120 separate ownership groups, with proposed entry fees frequently crossing the US$1 billion threshold per franchise.
Market projections suggest that the final composition of NBA Europe will likely feature a hybrid model combining traditional basketball clubs, newly minted corporate franchises, and entities tied directly to elite continental soccer heavyweights. In March, Qatar Sports Investments—the majority owner of UEFA Champions League winners Paris Saint-Germain—publicly confirmed its status among the interested bidders.
While public information regarding other major soccer institutions remains guarded, The Athletic reported that advanced discussions were progressing with several prominent football outfits. Signaling the seriousness of these pursuits, top NBA executives—including deputy commissioner Mark Tatum and George Aivazoglou, managing director for NBA Europe and the Middle East—attended the European Football Clubs annual conference in Copenhagen.
Within the domestic and continental landscape, traditional Spanish giants FC Barcelona and Real Madrid both renewed their Euroleague licences in 2026. However, Real Madrid’s director of basketball, Juan Carlos Sanchez, has publicly voiced strong support for exploring an eventual alliance with the NBA, highlighting internal divisions among elite clubs regarding the best commercial path forward.
Ultimately, the true intentions and alignments of all prospective investors are expected to crystallize once the ongoing high-level talks between the NBA and EuroLeague reach a definitive conclusion.
Moving to Half-Court
Throughout the evolution of these negotiations, the NBA has held steadfastly to an ambitious October 2027 tip-off date for its maiden European competition. Whether that timeline can survive Euroleague’s latest defensive maneuvers remains a central question for industry observers.
Speaking anonymously to The Athletic, a source close to a prospective NBA franchise suggested that the mooted launch date would prove "impossible" to execute effectively unless Euroleague chooses to come on board as an active partner.
Regardless of the eventual administrative structure, the realization of NBA Europe appears increasingly imminent, representing a profound strategic expansion for a league that has hosted regular-season showcase games in the region since 2011. George Aivazoglou is scheduled to appear at a prominent sports business conference in London, where he is expected to provide further updates on the structural shape of the proposed league and react directly to Euroleague’s definitive meeting in Lake Como.
Reflecting the complex diplomatic dance between the parties, NBA commissioner Adam Silver has repeatedly emphasized a preference for cooperation. Addressing American team owners last month, Silver noted that the proposed NBA Europe project "would be strengthened by joining forces with the EuroLeague."
Following this week’s developments in Italy, the NBA and Fiba released a joint statement reiterating their collective resolve to press ahead with the establishment of NBA Europe, while pointedly keeping the door open to future collaboration with Euroleague management.
"A partnership between the EuroLeague, Fiba and the NBA to unify the European basketball ecosystem would unlock the game’s enormous potential across Europe for the benefit of clubs, players and, most importantly, fans," the statement read.
"The NBA and Fiba remain committed to moving forward with a new professional men’s league in Europe and helping build a stronger, more sustainable basketball ecosystem alongside partners who share our vision of growth, opportunity and the core principles of the European sports model."
While the latest developments have not immediately yielded a unified continental alliance, consensus remains universal among all stakeholders on one fundamental point: professional club basketball in Europe has historically underperformed relative to its vast commercial potential. Whether the game’s power brokers can eventually bridge their differences to explore that potential together remains the defining question for the future of the sport.
