EuroLeague Expands to 24 Teams: €700 Million in Bids for New Franchises

European basketball has crossed its Rubicon. EuroLeague announced on Tuesday the expansion of the competition to 24 teams starting in the 2027-28 season, with a permanent franchise model in the American style that will make 21 of the 24 spots permanent, according to the statement issued after the ECA shareholders' council meeting.

The figures from the process explain the magnitude of the shift. The franchise competition opened in July has received more than twenty expressions of interest, of which eleven candidacies have been pre-accepted and are advancing to the next phase, with four others on the waiting list. Those eleven are presenting binding offers that total nearly €700 million in entry fees alone, within an aggregate investment that exceeds €3.2 billion over five years.

How it will work: 13 plus 8

The architecture of the new model is based on the 13 current shareholders, including Real Madrid, FC Barcelona, and Baskonia, to which up to eight new long-term franchises will be added, selected from the candidacies. The result: 21 permanent spots out of 24, although the effective count would be 20 as long as CSKA Moscow, which retains its shareholder status, remains without the right to compete.

Interest comes from both traditional European basketball territories and new investment projects from the continent and the Middle East, and the final decision has a date: the owners' meeting in late September will vote on the definitive transition to the model and the number and names of those selected.

Chief Executive Officer Chus Bueno set the framework: the binding offers close to €700 million demonstrate, he said, the strength of the business model, and the process will now continue with a rigorous review of each project to ensure that those selected strengthen the competition both sportively and commercially.

What it means: goodbye to the elevator, hello to the check

It's worth translating: the franchise model consolidates the closure of the competition. Whoever enters, enters to stay following payment of a multimillion-euro fee, and the invited spots are reduced to a minimal token. It is the culmination of the drift that all the signals we've been reporting anticipated this summer: the SuperCup in Abu Dhabi, the arrival of Dubai Basketball, the BC Roma project with Dončić eyeing the elite, or the muscle of emerging clubs in the market.

The announcement also comes wrapped in expansion figures: 15% year-over-year revenue growth, a projected aggregate valuation of €4.3 billion for 2027 according to JB Capital, the creation of ArenaCO to finance arena modernization, and framework agreements signed or being signed with the coaches' union (EHCB) and referees' union (UEBO), which join the existing one with players (ELPA).

And one final line from the statement worth a future headline: management reported recent constructive conversations with senior NBA and FIBA executives about possible areas of collaboration in European basketball. The big game, the NBA Europe project, continues to be played in parallel.