EuroLeague stakeholders unanimously rejected the NBA’s initial merger proposal for NBA Europe and voted to postpone expansion, Joe Vardon of The Athletic reported. The vote had been scheduled for Monday.
Negotiations are not dead. The NBA’s timeline might be.
Follow-up reporting from Donatas Urbonas of BasketNews indicates that if no deal is reached and the NBA proceeds alone, the planned fall 2027 launch could slip to 2028. EuroLeague shareholders are expected back with a counteroffer within weeks.
The rejection was about terms, not the idea
An anonymous European team executive drew the distinction clearly. “A few clubs are anti-NBA Europe, but a bulk of the clubs didn’t like the proposal,” the executive said.
That is a meaningful difference. Thirteen core permanent EuroLeague members did not say they object to an NBA-backed competition in Europe. They said the first offer was not good enough, which is what any group of asset holders says to a first offer.
Adam Silver has been openly courting them
After last month’s Board of Governors meeting, the commissioner made the case publicly. “We believe that NBA Europe would be strengthened by joining forces with the EuroLeague,” Silver said. “It doesn’t have to happen, but I think we all would be better off as a unified front in Europe.”
Then the part that explains the urgency: “For us, in terms of NBA Europe, we truly see it as a once-in-forever opportunity.”
A league that describes something as once-in-forever is a league that will improve its offer.
The structure on the table
The plan is 16 teams, 12 permanent and four qualifying, with franchise fees of $500 million to $1 billion per permanent club. Bids are under review. Target markets are Paris, Rome, Barcelona, Madrid, London, Berlin and Athens.
Those fees are the whole negotiation. EuroLeague clubs have spent decades building brands in exactly those cities and are being asked to accept a structure where new entrants buy in at a price that reprices everything they own.
The NBA keeps showing up in Europe regardless
San Antonio and New Orleans will play regular-season games in Paris on January 14 and in Manchester, England, on January 17. The league does not need a merger to build an audience there, and both sides know it.
That is the NBA’s leverage. EuroLeague’s leverage is that the clubs, the history and the local television relationships in those seven markets already belong to somebody.
What happens next
A counteroffer within weeks, and possibly an announcement of the first major franchise cities. If the two sides land somewhere, 2027 survives. If the NBA decides to go alone, 2028 is the realistic target and European basketball spends five years in a market war.
Unanimous rejection sounds dramatic. In practice it is 13 clubs telling a much richer partner that the opening bid undervalued them. They are probably right, and both sides have every reason to keep talking.
A longtime sports reporter, Carlos Garcia has written about some of the biggest and most notable athletic events of the last 5 years. He has been credentialed to cover MLS, NBA and MLB games all over the United States. His work has been published on Fox Sports, Bleacher Report, AOL and the Washington Post.