Euroleague Basketball, the organizer of top European club competitions, has unveiled plans to distribute €3.4 billion ($3.8 billion) to participating teams over the next 10 years as part of a detailed long-term business plan after its shareholders rejected an offer to team up with the NBA.
The key economic aspects of Euroleague Basketball’s decade-long plan were approved by all 13 EuroLeague Commercial Assets (ECA) shareholder clubs late last week, with the organization seeking to press ahead with expansion plans.
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The plan aims to “significantly increase the league’s commercial revenues and economic distributions to participating clubs, while creating new opportunities for investment and expansion.”
Over the full 10-year period, the league projects total distributions of €3.4 billion to participating teams, comprising €2.2 billion from revenues and €1.2 billion from franchise fees.
Earlier this month, Euroleague Basketball officially announced an expansion of its competition and a move to a franchise model after a crunch meeting with shareholder clubs, which each have an equal stakeholding in the EuroLeague and compete on 10-year licensing agreements.
Those clubs are: ASVEL (France), Bayern Munich (Germany), Olympiacos and Panathinaikos (Greece), Armani Olimpia Milan (Italy), Maccabi Tel Aviv (Israel), Zalgiris (Lithuania), CSKA Moscow (Russia), Barcelona, Baskonia, and Real Madrid (Spain), Anadolu Efes and Fenerbahce (Turkey).
Going forward, those 13 have all committed to converting their 10-year EuroLeague contracts into permanent franchise licenses, a transaction that will be carried out without any associated franchise or entry fee, due to their “longstanding commitment and contribution to the league.”
Expansion represents another key pillar of the 10-year strategy, with the league aiming to expand to 24 teams by the 2027-28 season.
Euroleague Basketball has revealed it currently has 15 binding offers on the table, of which a number have been accepted, with a combined value of €1.2 billion. The franchise fees will be paid through two potential expansion windows, scheduled for 2027 and 2031.
These fees would be additional to the commercial distributions generated for participating clubs.
Under the 10-year business plan, Euroleague Basketball is targeting €648 million in annual commercial revenues by year 10.
The league organizing body believes it can reach this figure “having achieved five-fold commercial revenue growth over the previous 10 years.”
Based on current estimated valuations of €1.8 billion for the licensed clubs collectively and €1.4 billion for the league, the plan forecasts “substantial” long-term growth over the next decade.
Euroleague Basketball believes the transition to a franchise-based model will deliver an immediate increase in the value of both the clubs and the league from the 2026-27 season, with an anticipated 25% uplift in value.
By the end of the 10-year period, the collective value of the current licensed clubs is projected to reach €5.4 billion, representing a threefold increase, while the value of the league is forecast to reach €7.98 billion, equivalent to 5.7 times its current estimated value, over next 10 years.
The long-term financial sustainability of clubs remains a central objective of the plan. Currently, approximately 40% of licensed clubs are considered financially sustainable, but Euroleague Basketball projects that all licensed clubs will achieve financial sustainability by the end of the first phase of its 10-year business plan.
Xavi Puyada, Euroleague Basketball chief financial officer, said: “A growing number of our licensed clubs have achieved a sustainable financial operation in recent years, with 40% currently being in that position.
“All clubs see full sustainability as an ultimate priority, and the 10-year business plan puts that at the very center. The value of the EuroLeague and of its clubs is growing very rapidly, and that will only accelerate further as we execute the business plan and the clubs continue with their own progress.
“Clubs will keep ownership on a valuable asset without requiring any additional risks or investments.”
Crucially, all 13 members at the shareholder meeting rejected the proposal of the NBA, which offered to merge its NBA Europe proposal with the EuroLeague.
That offer was extended to the 13 ECA members, but not any of the other prospective EuroLeague franchises.
The door, however, is open to future offers from the NBA, meaning that there may yet be an agreement, although it is equally as likely that no deal is reached, and NBA Europe debuts in competition with the EuroLeague.
The NBA remains committed to launching a new league in Europe despite the rejection and believes it will create a better structure for the sport in the region.
The future of European basketball is in the balance, with the NBA saying it is keen to move forward with the new league in 2027 whether a deal is reached or not.
Unlike the EuroLeague, NBA Europe is seeking to operate a semi-closed model that would reward teams through qualification on sporting merit.
Speaking at the Leaders Week conference in London recently, George Aivazoglou, the NBA's managing director in Europe and the Middle East, stated that European basketball has failed to reach its potential under the EuroLeague's closed system and would instead benefit better from a “singular pyramid”.
