NBA Europe draws host of bids, including $1 billion offers: Sources

The NBA’s plan to plant a 16-team league on European soil moved from concept to concrete this week, with commissioner Adam Silver’s office confirming that more than 120 prospective investors submitted non-binding proposals before Tuesday’s midnight deadline. Multiple bidders offered at least $1 billion for a permanent franchise license, while several others met or exceeded the league’s baseline valuation of $500 million, according to two people with direct knowledge of the submissions.

The sheer scale of the offers—described by the same sources as “serious” across every target market—gives the NBA uncommon leverage as it prepares to reshape the continent’s basketball hierarchy. “We have received significant interest from a range of prospective teams and investors for permanent franchise spots in a new league in Europe,” deputy commissioner Mark Tatum said in a statement provided to The Athletic. “The level of engagement and the scale of the bids reflect the marketplace’s belief in our proposed model and the enormous, untapped potential for European basketball.”

Under the framework being reviewed, the NBA would award 12 permanent licenses and reserve four additional berths for clubs that continue to compete in domestic European leagues. The league, being developed in partnership with FIBA and advised by JPMorgan Chase and the Raine Group, is still scheduled to tip off in October 2027.

Bidders were required to sign non-disclosure agreements, and submissions functioned largely as declarations of interest rather than final offers. Prospective ownership groups outlined projected license fees as well as anticipated infrastructure spending, including new or renovated arenas. The NBA is expected to vet the proposals in waves, gradually unveiling selected partners rather than announcing all 12 license holders at once.

The bidding pool is notably diverse. In addition to high-net-worth private investors, several existing EuroLeague clubs—among them Alba Berlin and ASVEL—are attempting to secure entry, a dynamic that could destabilize the continent’s premier competition. The Saudi Public Investment Fund, Qatar Sports Investments and RedBird Capital have all been linked to bids for London, Paris and Milan franchises respectively, underscoring the geopolitical reach of the NBA’s expansion effort.

Yet the NBA is not offering EuroLeague clubs a fast track. Multiple sources emphasized that any current European team seeking guaranteed admission must pay the same license fee as expansion-style bidders, a stance that places financial pressure on storied programs in Barcelona, Madrid, Athens and Istanbul.

The league’s negotiating posture has already triggered skepticism among some European stakeholders. A third source said local bidders are questioning the NBA’s revenue-sharing and competitive-balance models, predicting “weeks of contentious negotiations” before any licenses are finalized.

Silver has publicly advocated collaboration rather than confrontation, telling reporters last week that “the best outcome would be if we came together with the EuroLeague here and that we came up with a systematic approach to growing the game throughout Europe.” That dialogue could accelerate later this month when NBA officials are scheduled to meet with new EuroLeague CEO Chus Bueno, a former league executive widely viewed as more amenable to partnership than his predecessor.

For now, the NBA holds the strongest hand. The bids are in, the money is real—exceeding $1 billion in several cases—and Silver’s October 2027 launch target remains intact. What remains to be decided is not only which investors will secure the first licenses, but whether Europe’s existing basketball infrastructure will coexist with the NBA’s new venture or be subsumed by it.