Adam Silver details NBA Europe launch plan with $1 billion expansion fees

Las Vegas—NBA Commissioner Adam Silver used his annual state-of-the-league platform on Saturday to unveil the most ambitious international project in the association’s 77-year history: a self-contained, NBA-branded league in Europe scheduled to tip off in October 2027.

Speaking to reporters ahead of the league’s mid-season showcase, Silver said the concept—internally dubbed “NBA Europe”—has advanced from exploratory talks to a concrete business plan backed by JPMorgan Chase and boutique advisory firm The Raine Group. Dozens of prospective ownership groups have already executed nondisclosure agreements and are reviewing financial models that project expansion fees between $500 million and $1 billion per franchise.

“We are entering a new phase,” Silver said. “This is real money, real infrastructure, real ambition.”

The working model envisions 12 to 16 clubs split into two tiers. Ten to twelve permanent “A-licenses” would anchor the league, while four to six additional places would be filled through annual qualification from existing European competitions, marrying American-style franchise stability with European meritocracy.

Silver emphasized that the NBA is targeting institutions whose reach transcends basketball: Real Madrid, FC Barcelona, Bayern Munich, Fenerbahçe Spor Kulübü and Turkish champion Anadolu Efes. Collectively, those organizations command hundreds of millions of social-media followers, most tied to globally dominant soccer operations.

“If someone is a Real Madrid football fan,” Silver said, “and they also have a great basketball organization, a relaunch league may bring a lot of those historic fans with them.”

The price of admission, however, is steep. The commissioner warned that profitability is “a decades-long build,” adding, “People who are looking for a short return should probably look elsewhere.”

Beyond franchise fees, the NBA intends to modernize Europe’s arena stock, describing current venue standards as a bottleneck to premium revenue. “One of the things we’re focused on is building a new arena infrastructure in Europe,” Silver said. “It’s badly needed.”

Player involvement may extend beyond the court. The league and the National Basketball Players Association are discussing a rule change that would allow active NBA talent to purchase equity in NBA Europe clubs. Lakers guard Luka Dončić is already negotiating with former Mavericks general manager Donnie Nelson to acquire Italian side Vanoli Basket Cremona and relocate it to Rome, a move that, if completed, would provide an early proof of concept.

Roughly 15 percent of current NBA rosters are European-born, and Silver framed the initiative as a natural evolution of that pipeline. “The idea of global superstars becoming transcontinental stakeholders is not a side plot,” he said. “It’s the future.”

The plan’s most delicate diplomacy involves the EuroLeague, the continent’s established top-tier competition. Silver acknowledged “constructive discussions” with newly installed EuroLeague CEO Chus Bueno but conceded that integrating closed-league economics, salary-cap principles and revenue sharing into European sport will test lawyers and economists as much as coaches.

“Nothing is easy here,” Silver said. “There are reasons why this hasn’t been done before. But I think we’re up to it.”

Behind the scenes, the NBA is exploring cross-continental tournaments—described internally as a basketball Club World Cup—that would pit NBA teams against European sides at predetermined intervals during the season.

Silver, who fielded questions about domestic expansion in Las Vegas and Seattle, joked about the fatigue visible under his eyes. Yet when the topic shifted to Europe, his tone sharpened and his cadence quickened. If the 2027 launch date holds, the NBA will pivot from a North American league with global broadcast deals to a bicontinental operation with local offices, local venues and local owners on both sides of the Atlantic.

The commissioner closed with a message to Europe’s proud, independent basketball culture: he is not asking it to freeze in time—he is asking it to evolve.

“And in typical NBA fashion,” Silver said, “we’re betting big that the world will follow.”