Five major European sports clubs will meet with NBA Europe officials in London on Tuesday to discuss the new league project. The NBA remains determined to launch a 12-franchise competition by 2027, working to resolve standoff issues with EuroLeague.
Despite the currently unsuccessful negotiations with the EuroLeague, the NBA Europe project is moving forward with a new major meeting set for Tuesday.
According to Mark Kleinman of Sky News, the executives from five major European football clubs, including AC Milan, Paris Saint-Germain, Barcelona, Real Madrid, and Bayern Munich, will meet with NBA Europe representatives in London on Tuesday.
The heads of these organizations will be in London for the Ballon d'Or awards ceremony, which is set for Monday evening; however, it is unclear whether the meeting will take place in person or remotely.
The upcoming discussions come as the NBA seeks to finalize the sale of 12 franchises, which would form the new league alongside four teams that could enter the league with certain qualifications.
Kleinman reports that for a franchise in London, potential investors are willing to pay as much as $1 billion, with other franchises fetching hundreds of millions in negotiations that have been ongoing for more than six months.
Barcelona, Real Madrid and Bayern Munich are currently competing in the EuroLeague.
All three teams attended the EuroLeague meeting in Como, Italy, where they agreed to move toward converting their 10-year licenses into permanent franchises while continuing talks on adding new franchises.
EuroLeague rejection complicates the situation
The EuroLeague recently rejected the NBA's proposal for a potential collaboration during a meeting of stakeholders in Lake Como.
Kleinman indicates that the sale of NBA Europe franchises is unlikely to proceed until they resolve the situation with the EuroLeague.
The London meeting that includes three EuroLeague franchises could help move the discussions with EuroLeague forward, as the NBA is still aiming for the 2027 start of their new league in Europe.
The latest on NBA-EuroLeague negotiations
After the EuroLeague rejected the latest NBA offer, many wondered about the status of talks between the organizations, but Tatum declined to elaborate.
"I don't want to disclose any private conversations with the EuroLeague," NBA Deputy Commissioner Mark Tatum said on Tuesday. "As we've said before, we continue to be hopeful that we'll reach an agreement, but we're prepared to proceed regardless."
"We have our plans that we're proceeding with. And, you know, we're going to move as quickly as we can," he added.
When asked whether the NBA has set a deadline to conclude negotiations with the EuroLeague, Tatum did not give a definitive answer.
"Well, we're not stopping. We're moving and proceeding as quickly as we can. As we just talked about, our plan is to begin rolling out this project [NBA Europe] in October of 2027, which is a year from now. So we've got a lot of work to do, but we're moving quickly, and we're not slowing down at all," Tatum noted.
NBA Europe still targets October 2027 launch
Tatum reiterated that the NBA aims to launch the NBA Europe project in under a year.
"We continue to target October 2027, which is, as you said, 12 months. We target that to begin rolling out this project," Tatum said. "And we believe that the timing is realistic here. Remember, this is not just about a season."
"This is, and launching a new league, it's reimagining the entire European basketball ecosystem built on that merit-based foundation that gives every fan and club in Europe the right to dream.
"So this is a historic moment, and we're going to take the time we need to get it right. But we definitely expect to begin announcing teams as soon as agreements get finalized," Tatum added.
However, Tatum did not provide a specific timeline for when the league plans to announce its franchises.
"There is no timeline yet on when we announce the clubs," Tatum said. "I will say, as I said, our timeline is that we plan to start rolling this thing out a year from now. So in the not-too-distant future, we expect to be able to announce some of the franchises."
"So no specific timeline yet, but we're moving quickly knowing that a year from now is when we plan to begin rolling out this project. And we still believe that timing is realistic," Tatum added.
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