yahoo - 3/25/2026 6:37:26 PM - GMT (+2 )
NBA owners approved a plan to explore expansion franchises in Las Vegas and Seattle at their board of governors meeting Wednesday in New York. The NBA, in a statement, said it hired investment bank PJT Partners to “evaluate prospective markets, ownership groups, arena infrastructure and the broader economic implications of expansion.”
The league is also moving aggressively on its plans for NBA Europe to launch in the fall of 2027 with 10 to 12 teams; the entry prices for domestic and international expansion are still TBD.
These two developments could conservatively mean a $20 billion pot for the current NBA owners—roughly $15 billion in expansion fees for two U.S. clubs and $5 billion in fees from Europe.
The expansion money is not shared with players, as it sits outside of basketball-related income (BRI), which is used is used to set the salary cap and ensure players receive 51% of BRI annually. Each current team owner is looking at a check of at least $650 million, or even more if the NBA can trigger a bidding war in Vegas and Seattle that pushed the price to $8 billion or higher.
For context, the Boston Celtics and Los Angeles Lakers sold last year in transactions with enterprise values of $6.1 billion and $10 billion. In October, Sportico’s NBA valuations had the average team at $5.51 billion, with only the Golden State Warriors ($11.33 billion), Lakers ($10 billion) and New York Knicks ($9.85 billion) valued higher than $7 billion.
The NBA last expanded in 2004 when the then-Charlotte Bobcats became the league’s 30th franchise after Bob Johnson paid a $300 million expansion fee. The city was awarded a team to replace the one that moved to New Orleans.
Seattle, which lost its team to Oklahoma City in 2008, and Las Vegas, where the NBA holds its summer league, have long been the front-runners for NBA expansion. The expansion process was expected to launch after the league completed its most 2023 CBA and 2024 media deals, but commissioner Adam Silver put the brakes on those talks publicly and privately.
The latest macro issue for the NBA is the collapse of the RSN market which has left a hole in the income statements of many teams; the league just lowered its projected salary cap for the 2026-27 season on RSN weakness. There has also been a group of anti-expansion owners, who don’t want to see their equity in the league diluted from 1/30 to 1/32.
The NHL’s most recent expansion additions were in Seattle and Las Vegas with the Kraken and Golden Knights. Vegas added the WNBA’s Aces in 2018 and NFL’s Raiders in 2020, with MLB’s Athletics moving in time for the 2028 season.
Multiple groups are expected to compete for the franchise in Las Vegas, while Kraken owner Samantha Holloway has made clear her interest in bringing the NBA back to Seattle. This week, Holloway created an umbrella company for the Kraken and their home, Climate Pledge Arena, and increased her ownership stake in the venue. Climate Pledge was built with basketball in mind.
NBA owners also discussed the league’s plans for the creation of NBA Europe. The league is looking to sell franchise licenses in a dozen cities, including London, Manchester, Paris, Lyon, Berlin, Madrid and Barcelona.
NBA executives have spent time overseas meeting with potential buyers, and interest has come from a variety of investors, including the owners of the Paris Saint-Germain, Real Madrid and AC Milan soccer teams, and sovereign wealth funds like Saudi Arabia’s PIF. Silver has previously said he did not want ownership overlaps between the NBA and its European offshoot, which is being launched in partnership with FIBA.
First-round bids are due March 31, according to people familiar with the details, and while prices are yet to be set, those inside the industry expect most licenses to sell in the $300 million to $500 million range. Using a blended average, that means the 12 teams could net roughly $5 billion in expansion fees.
Some potential buyers, like Real Madrid, would come to the league with an existing basketball team while others, like PSG, would be starting from scratch. Others may take a middle ground, with investors looking at existing club teams like Alba Berlin or ASVEL Basket in Lyon as acquisition targets.
The NBA would own 50% of the new league, with team owners holding the other 50%, a setup identical to the equity structure of the WNBA until 2022, when the league raised outside capital. Raine Group and JPMorgan Chase are advising the league on the matter.
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