$20 billion revenue! NBA advances two major plans, each team owner to receive at least $650 million.

On March 26, Beijing time, during the NBA Board of Governors meeting, the 30 team owners officially approved a plan to study the feasibility of adding expansion teams in Las Vegas and Seattle. The NBA stated in a declaration that it has hired investment bank PJT Partners to "evaluate potential markets, acquisition teams, arena infrastructure, and the overall economic impact of expansion."

The league is also actively advancing plans to launch the NBA European League in the fall of 2027, which is expected to consist of 10 to 12 teams; currently, the franchise fees for domestic and overseas expansion have not been determined.

Conservative estimates suggest these two initiatives could generate total revenue of $20 billion for existing NBA team owners—approximately $15 billion from franchise fees for two domestic expansion teams and about $5 billion from European League franchise fees.

This expansion revenue will not be shared with players, as it does not fall under Basketball Related Income (BRI); rules regarding salary cap settings and players receiving 51% of BRI annually are based on BRI calculations.Based on this calculation, each existing team owner would receive at least $650 million.If bidding for Las Vegas and Seattle becomes competitive, pushing franchise fees to $8 billion or higher, each team's share could increase further.

For reference, the Celtics and Lakers completed transactions last year with enterprise values of $6.1 billion and $10 billion respectively. The latest valuation by sports business media Sportico shows the average NBA team market value is $5.51 billion, with the Golden State Warriors ($11.33 billion), Lakers ($10 billion), and New York Knicks ($9.85 billion) valued over $7 billion.

The NBA's last expansion was in 2004, when Bob Johnson paid a $300 million franchise fee to establish the Charlotte Bobcats as the league's 30th team. Charlotte gained a new team to fill the vacancy left after the original team moved to New Orleans.

Seattle lost its original team to Oklahoma City in 2008, while Las Vegas regularly hosts the NBA Summer League; both cities have long been top contenders for NBA expansion. External expectations were that the league would begin the expansion process after the new collective bargaining agreement in 2023 and the new media rights deal in 2024, but Commissioner Adam Silver has delayed related discussions publicly and privately.

Another macro issue facing the NBA is the collapse of the Regional Sports Network (RSN) market, creating significant revenue gaps for many teams; affected by this, the league recently lowered the projected salary cap for the 2026-27 season.

NBA owners also discussed plans to form an NBA European League. The league plans to sell team franchises in over ten cities, including London, Manchester, Paris, Lyon, Berlin, Madrid, and Barcelona.

NBA executives have traveled overseas to negotiate with potential buyers, including a wide range of investors such as owners of football clubs like Paris Saint-Germain, Real Madrid, AC Milan, as well as sovereign wealth funds like Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund (PIF). Silver previously stated he does not want overlap between NBA team owners and European League team owners; this European League will be launched in cooperation with FIBA.

According to informed sources, the first round of bidding will close on April 1. Although prices are not yet finalized, industry expectations suggest most franchise fees will range between $300 million and $500 million. Based on average valuations, 12 teams could bring approximately $5 billion in franchise fees. The NBA will hold 50% ownership of the new league, with team owners holding the remaining 50%, a structure identical to the WNBA before external capital was introduced in 2022.