The latest bids for NBA Europe franchises were due Monday, and they came in at $500 million or higher in each of the 12 target cities, with multiple bids of more than $1 billion. Bids were made by more than 20 existing basketball and soccer clubs, including current EuroLeague teams, according to someone familiar with the details.
The NBA and FIBA plan to launch the league in October 2027 with 12 permanent franchises, along with four clubs that secure rotating slots via competition in other FIBA circuits. For those first dozen teams, the group is speaking with bidders in Athens, Greece; Barcelona, Spain; Berlin; Istanbul; London; Lyon, France; Madrid, Spain; Manchester, England; Milan; Munich; Paris; and Rome.
“We’re extremely encouraged by the final bids we received for permanent franchises,” Mark Tatum, NBA deputy commissioner, said in a statement. “This will be the biggest influx of capital European basketball has ever seen, and we have clear front-runners in each of our 12 target cities, including many existing basketball and football clubs. We will now work with the NBA and FIBA Boards to finalize the long-form agreements.”
Initial bids were due March 31, and in the latest round, multiple bids came in at more than double their first offer. The current EuroLeague teams that placed bids have exit clauses in their agreements that would allow them to leave the league for the NBA’s new entity. Current NBA owners are not allowed to own teams, but multiple former team owners are part of ownership groups that submitted bids.
