Real Madrid commit to EuroLeague basketball amid NBA interest after €3bn proposal
EuroLeague basketball chiefs have secured a renewed commitment from Real Madrid in the face of rival interest from the NBA after wooing teams with a €3bn package.
Real Madrid are understood to have signed a new 10-year deal with EuroLeague in a move that is set to be rubber-stamped later this week.
It comes just days before the deadline for “final bids” from investors for franchises in the new European competition that the NBA wants to launch next year. The NBA has not said whether the bids will be binding at this stage.
Real Madrid are European basketball’s biggest team and were the last to commit to a contract renewal with the current organisers of the continent’s elite club competition.
The move is expected to be ratified at a EuroLeague board meeting on Friday in which further details of its franchising and expansion plans are also set to be revealed.
EuroLeague bosses believe they can raise almost €3bn from external investors over the next few years, to be distributed among its 13 permanent franchise-holders, including Real Madrid.
It is, essentially, a vision for European basketball’s growth in which the clubs retain ownership – in direct contrast to the NBA’s well-publicised plans.
The proposed €3bn would be made up of three pots: expansion fees when the competition expands to 24 teams in 2027, plus a $1.5bn windfall if the league achieves forecast growth and a $1bn fund for infrastructure development.
Real Madrid deal boost EuroLeague position
Real Madrid’s commitment strengthens EuroLeague’s position as it continues negotiations with NBA chiefs over a possible merger or collaboration over the new proposed project.
The NBA wants its league to be a combination of Europe’s historic giants, such as Real Madrid and Barcelona, and new franchises in key markets, such as London and Manchester.
It invited initial proposals from institutional investors in March and is understood to have set a deadline of next Monday 29 June for what deputy commissioner Mark Tatum called “final bids”.
The NBA has put a price tag of $500m to $1bn on franchises in its planned 16-team league and has engaged the Raine Group and JPMorgan as advisors for the sale.
While there has been strong demand for teams in new markets – London has attracted bids of over $1bn – the NBA has faced pushback from established powers such as Real Madrid.
The Spanish side, Barcelona and the owners of Paris Saint-Germain are all thought to have baulked at the price of entry in the belief the NBA needs them more than they need it.
NBA and EuroLeague talks set to continue
The NBA and its prospective investors believe European basketball has historically been significantly under-commercialised given the breadth of interest in the sport.
It has said it would be open to working with EuroLeague chiefs but multiple rounds of talks between the parties have done little to break the deadlock. More discussions are planned next month.
The US basketball behemoth is also aware that teams’ contracts with EuroLeague do not prevent them from joining an NBA project if they pay a penalty fee believed to be €10m.
But Real Madrid’s new deal aligns them with their peers and also creates a stronger negotiating bloc if they wish to push for further concessions from the NBA.
EuroLeague is also moving to a franchise model in a move that insiders believe will give its teams easier access to the kind of capital investors appear willing to pour into NBA Europe.
It is understood there have been 17 proposals from prospective new entrants to EuroLeague – a mixture of established teams and start-ups in key markets.
They are said to include a bid from a London project that is not the London Lions, a Berlin team not affiliated to the existing Alba Berlin and a new club in the Middle East.