A week ago, Adam Silver explained that the NBA's “front office” was not yet ready to discuss the expansion of the NBA, and the creation of two new franchises. However, a month earlier, this same Silver promised to accelerate the process starting in November.
According to ESPNthe reason for this big slowdown is simple: the announced sale of the Celtics. The NBA prefers to wait to know the amount to launch the creation of the two franchises. Let us recall that Seattle and Las Vegas are in the running to become the 31st and 32nd franchises, and if all goes well, the NBA would go to 32 teams in start of season 2027/28.
A huge cake to share between 30, then 32
But why wait for the Celtics to be sold? Simply because it could reach record levels, and the amount will set a new benchmark in terms of franchise value. For now, that benchmark is based on the sale of the Suns in 2023, for $4 billion. For the Boston franchise, the buyout could reach $6 billion !
Currently, each NBA team owns 3.3% of the league and shares the billions in revenue accordingly. Dividing that revenue among 32 teams reduces the share slightly, but over decades, those percentage points add up to significant sums.
Each franchise could get $300 million
However, the sale of the Celtics will change the terms of reference and potential investors in Seattle and Las Vegas will probably have to pay $5 billion each to the league for the creation of their franchises. ESPN is talking about an amount of $10 billion, and that would be the low end! At the same time, since each NBA team receives 3.3% of the league's revenues, the creation of two franchises would mean a nice check for $300 million!
Enough to make the pill of sharing revenues, particularly TV rights, from 30 to 32 sweeter. Even if, according to ESPN, owners remain skeptical about the long-term financial interest of adding two new franchises.
