NBA Europe bids close as London emerges as most sought-after franchise

The bidding window for NBA Europe franchise licences closed on March 31, with London confirmed as the most sought-after city in a process that attracted multiple bids in excess of $1bn.

The NBA, working with advisers JP Morgan and The Raine Group, is now reviewing non-binding offers for 12 permanent franchises in the new European league, which is set to launch in October 2027. Both London and Manchester are among the confirmed host cities.

“We have received significant interest from a range of prospective teams and investors for permanent franchise spots in a new league in Europe backed by the NBA and FIBA,” said NBA deputy commissioner Mark Tatum in an official statement.

“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.”

According to City AM, several bids fell in the $500m to $1bn range, with multiple exceeding the billion-dollar mark. The London franchise drew the most interest, with Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund and Chelsea co-owner Todd Boehly among those credited with interest in acquiring the UK capital’s team.

Sportico reported that more than 120 investors expressed interest overall, including private equity funds, sovereign wealth funds and high-net-worth individuals, alongside multiple existing EuroLeague teams. Notably, Qatar Sports Investments – owners of Paris Saint-Germain – did not submit a bid by the deadline but are still expected to file one and would not be excluded from consideration.

The NBA would own 50% of NBA Europe under the proposed structure – a point that has raised concerns among some potential investors, who told Sportico that the significant initial outlays required for franchise fees and infrastructure combined with the NBA retaining half of the entity presented a challenging economic proposition.

The league’s plan calls for 12 permanent franchise cities with a total of 14 to 16 teams, with the non-permanent slots open to teams from existing European leagues. Real Madrid, AC Milan and multiple EuroLeague clubs are understood to have submitted bids.

What it means for British basketball

The confirmation of both London and Manchester as host cities places UK basketball at the heart of the NBA’s European expansion. For a sport that has long operated in the margins of the British sporting landscape, the arrival of billion-dollar franchises on home soil represents a seismic shift in scale and ambition.

The key question now is how British basketball’s existing infrastructure – from the SLB Championship to grassroots programmes – fits into an ecosystem where a single franchise licence is worth more than the entire domestic game combined.

Speaking to the Yorkshire Post last week, SLB figures stressed the need for alignment across British basketball’s various stakeholders. “It’s no good us just having our mission and vision, we need to be aligned with all the other stakeholders, asking what is it we’re actually trying to achieve as a sport,” SLB’s Sanjay Bhandari MBE said.

NBA and EuroLeague inch towards compromise

Meanwhile, the NBA and EuroLeague are set for further meetings – potentially as soon as next week – amid growing hopes of a resolution to their long-running dispute over the European expansion, City AM reports.

The appointment of former NBA executive Chus Bueno as EuroLeague CEO in January has eased tensions between the parties and revived talks over a compromise that could see the EuroLeague built into the NBA Europe ecosystem.

“I think for the betterment of European basketball, 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,” NBA commissioner Adam Silver said last week. “That means complementing the country leagues, working together with the EuroLeague and working together with our federation, FIBA.”

If successful, the deal could pave the way for European giants including Real Madrid and Barcelona – both of whom are understood to have submitted bids – to join the new competition while maintaining their existing domestic commitments.

The NBA, JP Morgan and Raine will sell the franchises one at a time, starting with the most in-demand, giving unsuccessful bidders the opportunity to redirect offers to different cities. A shortlist of preferred partners is expected in the coming weeks.