The ECA Board convened in Barcelona on Tuesday, bringing together member clubs to take strategic decisions on competition formats, economic distribution, and the next phase of Euroleague Basketball’s three-year strategic roadmap.
The meeting marked another important milestone in the organization’s continued evolution, with a strong focus on sustainable growth, competitive balance, and long-term value creation.
Competition Format and Structure
The Board confirmed its commitment to maintaining a 20-team, round-robin format for the 2026–27 EuroLeague season, while reaffirming its strategic intent to explore expansion opportunities in the near future. Clubs also reviewed recommended improvements to the travel and health conditions presented by the EuroLeague Players Association (ELPA), and will discuss potential enhancement implementations applicable both at league-wide and at individual club levels.
Additionally, member clubs endorsed the initial exploration of a new high-profile pre-season competition featuring the EuroLeague and EuroCup champions, that could further strengthen the competitive ecosystem.
The Board also approved key enhancements to the EuroCup structure. These include the reinforcement of merit-based qualification system, with at least 10 teams qualifying through domestic league performance, alongside with multi-annual licenses for selected clubs. These measures aim to deepen integration between European elite competitions and domestic leagues.
Evolution of EuroLeague Economic Distribution
The ECA Board approved a landmark evolution of the EuroLeague’s economic distribution model, its first major update in over two decades.
The new framework reflects the league’s increased commercial maturity and diversification of revenue streams. It reinforces the organization’s collective spirit while rewarding competitiveness and recognizing the individual contribution of each club.
The revised model introduces two primary distribution pools:
• Broadcast-Related Pool
- Licensed clubs will retain 65% of net broadcast revenues generated in their respective markets.
- The remaining 35% will be equally distributed among all licensed clubs.
• League Commercial Pool (total available distribution pool minus broadcast-related distributions)
- 75% of this pool will be distributed among all participating clubs based on a combination of sporting performance, fan engagement (including attendance, TV audiences, and digital interaction), and historical results.
- The remaining 25% will be distributed equally among licensed clubs.
Following an already robust 18% year-on-year growth in 2025–26 in clubs’ distribution, this forward-looking model underpins strong financial growth, with the league projecting a further double-digit increase for the 2026–27 season reaching a new all-time record.
The Board also agreed to continue to evaluate further potential improvements to the economic distribution criteria that reinforce the collective spirit of the league, encourage all parties to contribute to the growth of the collective property and of its members clubs, and reward such contributions from all individual clubs.
License Structure and Strategic Expansion
The Board received an update on the transition from the current 10-year license system to a permanent ‘franchise’ model, targeted for completion by the 2026–27 season.
This transformation is designed to enhance long-term stability, increase asset value, and unlock new investment opportunities across the league and its clubs.
Board members were also briefed on strong market interest, with more than 10 clubs and markets having submitted letters of interest to join the league as part of an upcoming expansion process, which is set to officially launch its first exploration phase in July 2026.
As previously communicated, an independent valuation conducted by JB Capital has established the combined enterprise value of the EuroLeague and its licensed clubs at €3.2 billion. This valuation is projected to grow by approximately 25% following the execution of the league’s strategic plan and the implementation of the franchise model.
Stakeholder Engagement
Euroleague Basketball’s CEO and management team also updated the Board on ongoing stakeholder engagement, including discussions with the NBA regarding the potential “NBA Europe” project.
The Board reaffirmed its commitment to maintaining an open and constructive dialogue with the NBA, with the objective of exploring strategic partnership opportunities that could further elevate European basketball. Euroleague Basketball’s management will focus on next steps in this regard during the upcoming weeks.
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