April 1, 2026, 3:05 p.m. ET
A key deadline has come and gone for the NBA’s venture into Europe, and the league office is buoyed with the result, all of which signals building momentum for the proposed upstart league.
The NBA had set a midnight deadline of Wednesday, April 1 for prospective investors to submit non-binding bids for consideration into the league’s proposed NBA Europe expansion. According to a person with direct knowledge of the matter, north of 120 investment groups expressed interest in teams for the proposed league, with multiple bids even surpassing $1 billion. The league had set a loose threshold for entry at around $500 million; according to the person, many of the bid proposals fell within that $500 million to $1 billion range.
The proposed bids essentially act similarly to licensing fees that represent a buy-in into the league.
The non-binding bids came from wealthy individuals, investment firms and even existing teams in the EuroLeague, which is the legacy league that NBA Europe would be looking to compete against, if not replace altogether.
The person spoke under the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to comment publicly on the matter.
“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,” NBA deputy commissioner Mark Tatum said Wednesday in a statement emailed to USA TODAY Sports. “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. We will now review the bids in more detail and shortlist the partners who share our vision and commitment to accelerating the growth of the game across the continent.”
There are 12 cities across Europe that the NBA and FIBA, its partner in the venture, are targeting for the new league. The cities are among the biggest in Europe and include Rome, Paris, Barcelona, London and Athens.
Now, the NBA will present the most attractive bids to the Board of Governors for approval.
The NBA held a Board of Governors session March 24 and 25, during which the expansion into Europe was discussed. Tatum, who also operates as the NBA’s chief operating officer, updated ownership on the progress of NBA Europe, though no measures were put up for a vote.
The NBA and FIBA are planning to structure the new league with 14 to 16 teams, with 10 to 12 of those being permanent fixtures and the others being open slots based on performance in FIBA leagues.
One key hurdle will be the NBA’s ongoing discussions with EuroLeague leadership over the stakes and control of the proposed NBA Europe league. At last week’s Board of Governors meeting, NBA Commissioner Adam Silver said he sensed that EuroLeague was willing to engage in discussions with the objective of getting a deal done.
“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,” Silver said Wednesday, March 25. “That means complementing the country leagues, working together with the EuroLeague and working together with our federation, FIBA.”
Chus Bueno, who was recently appointed as the EuroLeague’s CEO, has a friendly relationship with Silver from the time when Bueno worked in the NBA league office.