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The 13 shareholder clubs of the EuroLeague basketball, during a meeting on Tuesday in Cernobbio, Italy, rejected the cooperation offer proposed by the National Basketball Association (NBA), which is seeking to launch a tournament in Europe, according to a source close to the negotiations.
The source explained that "the 13 shareholders unanimously rejected the offer, considering it unacceptable in its current form," while affirming that the door has not been permanently closed.
The NBA intends to launch a league in Europe in the fall of 2027, in partnership with the International Basketball Federation (FIBA), featuring 16 teams, including 12 permanent teams in major cities: Paris, Lyon, London, Manchester, Berlin, Munich, Madrid, Barcelona, Athens, Istanbul, Milan, and Rome.
The NBA has maintained for months that this new tournament will see the light of day regardless of the outcome of discussions with the EuroLeague.
In June, a senior NBA official in charge of its European version predicted in an interview with Agence France-Presse that the new competition would generate hundreds of millions of dollars annually for the participating teams.
Georgios Aivazoglou, managing director of the NBA in Europe and the Middle East, explained that clubs wishing to participate must pay between "$500 million and $1 billion" in order to become "partners" in the NBA Europe project.
NBA Commissioner Adam Silver stated earlier in the summer that he had received "record interest" from potential clubs.
In addition to the International Basketball Federation (FIBA), the NBA is in talks with the EuroLeague.
The NBA is presenting its new league project as a massive profit generator for potential investors, despite the huge initial cost.
Aivazoglou said that "a partner becomes a shareholder. There is value in the asset."
He added, "This is the +NBA+ league in Europe, and (for any participating club) it will become an asset valued in the tens of billions of dollars."
The plan calls for creating a league with 12 permanent clubs, with four additional clubs qualifying to participate in the tournament.
All these clubs will benefit from "very large central distributions from the league. We are talking overall about hundreds of millions annually," according to Aivazoglou.
When this amount is distributed among 16 teams, each will receive tens of millions.
The NBA has pledged to pump $3 billion into the project to help cover initial losses.
Aivazoglou emphasized that "we are building a tournament for the next 100 years."
Following the announcement of the intention to launch this project, the EuroLeague management expressed concern that the existence of a second elite-level league would weaken the sport in the region.
League CEO Paulius Motiejūnas described the creation of an additional league as "unnecessary."
At Tuesday's meeting, the 13 shareholder clubs of the continental competition (Real Madrid, Barcelona, and Baskonia from Spain; Olympiacos and Panathinaikos from Greece; Fenerbahçe and Anadolu Efes from Turkey; Bayern Munich from Germany; LDLC ASVEL from France; Žalgiris Kaunas from Lithuania; CSKA Moscow from Russia; and AX Armani Exchange Milan from Italy) postponed the selection of eight new clubs to join the continental tournament.
A statement issued by the league said, "The Executive Committee continues to study the files and will present a final recommendation for approval in the coming weeks."
The league received 15 bids to fill these eight spots, but prefers to give itself more time before determining the identity of the new clubs and the terms of their joining.
The EuroLeague announced in July that starting from the 2027-2028 season, it will transition to a system comprising 21 permanent clubs: eight new ones in addition to the 13 shareholder clubs.
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