NBA Deputy Commissioner Mark Tatum confirmed Tuesday that final bids for the proposed 16-team NBA Europe league are due by the end of June, with both the NBA and FIBA Board of Governors set to vote on the venture afterward. Tatum said the league remains on track for an October 2027 launch and dismissed accusations of financial exploitation, stating that 85–90% of revenues would stay in Europe. The NBA plans to invest over $3 billion to offset early team losses. Negotiations with EuroLeague clubs, including Real Madrid and Barcelona, continue, though permanent franchises require bids of $500 million to $1 billion.
In-Depth:
Final bids for the proposed NBA Europe are due at the finish of June, NBA Deputy Commissioner Mark Tatum stated Tuesday, while admitting the league will proceed with or without a EuroLeague partnership.
Speaking to international journalists before Wednesday’s start of the NBA Finals, Tatum stated NBA Europe is in the advanced stages of a multi-tiered launch that will include what he called “one of the largest marketing campaigns … not just in sports but of any consumer brand period.”
He added that the 16-team league is on track to launch in October of 2027 and that, at some point after final bids arrive in four weeks, both the NBA and FIBA Board of Governors will vote whether to green-light the venture.
“We’ll talk to our board, and FIBA will talk to its board and go through the process as well, so we’re right on track,” Tatum stated. “I won’t give you a specific timeline becautilize we’ve obtained to neobtainediate and finalize neobtainediations with several of those clubs and come to agreement. … So we’re very pleased with the progress there.”
Neobtainediations will also continue with EuroLeague, which has the most marquee bquestionetball brand names on the continent, such as Real Madrid and Barcelona, and would give the fledgling NBA league instant provincial credibility. But to be permanent franchises in the startup — as opposed to a year-to-year merit-based participant — those clubs would have to bid between $500M and $1B, which has created skepticism in the region.
“We’ve expressed to the EuroLeague, and we’ve talked to them about [how] the only way to guarantee a permanent spot in our league is through a successful bid for permanent franchise,” Tatum stated. “But … we’re also ready to proceed with our partners and investors if we can’t come to some sort of an agreement. It would not be ideal, obviously, but … we continue to pursue a constructive, collaborative and aligned outcome across the entire European ecosystem. We’ve been consistent in that, in believing that all parties should align here for the best interest of bquestionetball.”
The issue, based on the questions aimed at Tatum on Tuesday, is the perception that the NBA Europe model is a money-grab for the NBA owners in the U.S. — something Tatum vehemently denied.
“It’s a mischaracterization and it’s just flat–out false that the vast majority of the money will receive extracted back to the United States,“ he stated. “The vast majority of that money, call it 85 to 90% of the economics, will stay in Europe. I just want to build sure that’s very, very clear.”
To emphasize that, Tatum pointed to what would be an impfinishing marketing campaign throughout Europe, while reminding reporters that the NBA is prepared to utilize franchise fees to offset early projected losses for teams. Sources have stated previously that the NBA informed bidders in early May that they will invest more than $3B to cover the losses and reduce risks for teams.
“It means that they don’t have to contribute additional capital upfront,” Tatum stated. “So, we’re going to deploy that capital on strategic investments, including infrastructure and funding of grassroots development programs throughout the European bquestionetball ecosystem. That’s what we’re communicating to the potential investors, and that’s really, really resonating.
“… We’re very, very far along with many of the clubs in Europe, both existing bquestionetball clubs as well as potential new clubs and new investors. I would state the things that we are viewing to work out are just a clear understanding of the model, right? Teams now are starting to understand the economics of the model, where they are receiveting participation fees, they’re receiveting performance fees, they’re receiveting revenue that is being shared from the projections that we have at the center, and they’re recognizing that the vast majority of the economics here are going to go to them. That’s one of the things that has taken a little bit of time.”
