By Ruairidh Barlow
Oct 22 (Reuters) – Former Euroleague CEO Jordi Bertomeu told Reuters on Thursday that the competition’s clubs should not give up control over their future in any collaboration with the NBA’s planned European league.
The NBA is targeting October 2027 for the launch of NBA Europe, while Euroleague plans to expand its competition for the 2027-28 season.
Euroleague CEO Chus Bueno told Reuters on Monday that further fragmentation of European basketball would be “a disaster”, although both sides say they remain open to working together.
Bertomeu told Reuters that collaboration was in everyone’s interests, but the NBA’s current offer was not attractive to Euroleague.
Euroleague’s 13 shareholder clubs collectively own and govern the competition, giving them a say over its format, financial model and strategic direction.
The NBA proposal has not been made public, but Bertomeu said its terms “as they are being presented today are not those of a collaboration, based on what we know.”
The Euroleague shareholders rejected the proposal at a meeting on October 6. Earlier this month a senior executive at a Euroleague club told Reuters that they expected the NBA to come back with an improved offer.
Euroleague and NBA Europe have both promised growth for the 13 Euroleague shareholder clubs.
Bueno says most Euroleague clubs would be sustainable within five years under its 10-year business plan, while NBA Deputy Commissioner Mark Tatum told Reuters on Tuesday that the NBA Europe model promised a “much quicker path to profitability”.
Tatum added that the NBA was “prepared to proceed regardless” of whether the Euroleague collaborated on its NBA Europe project.
Asked about Tatum’s comments, Bertomeu, 67, warned that the path to improved economic results for shareholder clubs was no clearer under the NBA model.
“If European clubs move to a model that they are told will generate much more economic activity and much higher revenues, it is not guaranteed.”
Bertomeu said the potential trade-off could not be measured solely in financial terms.
“In exchange, they would give up control over their own future. And if, three years from now, what they have been promised does not happen, they will not be able to change anything,” he said.
“In 26 years (of Euroleague), I was there for 22. During those 22 years we made mistakes, but we had the ability to correct them. We decided to change course and made our own decisions. (In NBA Europe) that would no longer be the case.”
NBA sources told Reuters on Thursday that all shareholding clubs would participate in league governance, just as they do in the NBA.
Bertomeu led Euroleague Basketball from its creation in 2000 until stepping down in 2022.
He said the NBA could make its biggest contribution to the growth of Euroleague clubs in commercial operations and stadium infrastructure.
“I have no doubt that the NBA could do an extraordinary commercial job. That is where the NBA could do great things.
“I believe these should be the points of collaboration between the two parties,” said Bertomeu, adding that format changes and economic reform were unnecessary.
(Reporting by Ruairidh BarlowEditing by Toby Davis)
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