Threat? The NBA gives the Euroleague a deadline to accept its proposal
In the approach of the last few weeks, we will see if it ends up leading to a common league
The NBA has set a deadline for the Euroleague to respond to its collaboration proposal. The offer is on the table at the extraordinary meeting of Euroleague owners taking place in Cernobbio, and according to information from the negotiations, the response must arrive by Tuesday, October 6, 2026.
The NBA's proposal would not be indefinite and would be conditioned on the Euroleague maintaining its current structure exactly. According to sources familiar with the conversations cited by La Gazzetta dello Sport, the agreement would be invalidated if the European competition proceeds with its plans to expand to 24 teams or to create franchises.
The situation puts the owners of the Euroleague in front of an important decision. On one hand, there is a collaboration proposal with the NBA that could open a new chapter in the relationship between both competitions. On the other, the project put forth in recent months considers a transformation of the Euroleague, with the incorporation of new teams and an evolution towards a franchise model.
According to the information published by Gazzetta and reported by HoopsHype, the NBA would have established two specific conditions for its proposal. The first is that the meeting of owners held in Cernobbio provides a response. The second is to keep the current structure of the Euroleague intact.
Currently, the NBA's proposal would be designed based on the model of the competition as it exists now, with no modifications to the number of shareholder clubs or their status. The list of the current 13 clubs includes Olimpia Milano, Real Madrid, Barcelona, Fenerbahçe, Efes Istanbul, Panathinaikos, Olympiacos, Maccabi Tel Aviv, Bayern Munich, Asvel Villeurbanne, Baskonia, Zalgiris Kaunas, and CSKA, although the Russian team is currently suspended from the competition.
This last point represents a direct clash with the plans that have been discussed in recent months for the future of the Euroleague. The expansion to 24 teams and the creation of a franchise-based model are part of the vision being worked on in parallel under the direction of CEO Chus Bueno.
The Euroleague's Position
The Euroleague's position seems to be more open to continuing negotiations even after the deadline, with the idea that there is still room to reach an agreement. However, this stance would clash with that of the NBA, which would have set October 6 as the deadline to receive a response.
In this way, the future model of the top European competition is directly related to the decision made by its owners in Cernobbio. Maintaining the current structure would allow for the NBA's collaboration proposal to remain alive, while moving towards expansion and the franchise model would render it ineffective according to the conditions currently laid out.
The decision of the owning clubs may therefore mark a turning point for the future of the Euroleague and its relationship with the NBA.
This is an automatic translation. You can read the original news, ¿Amenaza? La NBA le pone una fecha límite a la Euroliga para aceptar su propuesta
