EuroLeague Basketball CEO Chus Bueno said Saturday in Athens that the competition is set to move to a franchise model next season, marking a major shift in the league’s structure as it prepares for expansion and long-term contracts.
“We are moving to a franchise model next year,” Bueno said during the Final Four press conference at the Telekom Center Athens. He added that the league will “incorporate some teams as expansion franchises in the following years,” with 17 offers already on the table.
Bueno described the league as being in strong shape on and off the court. He pointed to 122 million live spectators during the regular season, 1.5 billion social media views, and live-plus-delayed viewership that rose 82% year over year.
The structural change is part of a broader push to give the EuroLeague more stability. Bueno said the league wants to keep growing through long-term agreements, even as some clubs remain in the process of signing renewals.
He also outlined how expansion could look. Bueno said the ideal number would be “around 18 or 19 if we expand to 24 teams,” with a path that could eventually move the league from 20 to 22 teams before reaching 24.
That expansion process would not happen all at once. Bueno said the timing could be two years or even three, depending on when clubs are ready and how the board decides to proceed.
Crvena Zvezda and Partizan are already in the mix. Bueno said both Belgrade clubs have submitted letters of interest and “will have to go through the process,” while noting that clubs with a long history in the league would receive discounts compared with new entrants.
He also addressed the cost of entry by citing a valuation from investment bank JB Capital, which assessed the league at 1.4 billion euros. Bueno said the standard figure for becoming a franchisee would be around 80 million euros, though legacy clubs would pay less.
The franchise model is only one part of a larger discussion. Bueno said the EuroLeague is also exploring a possible NBA partnership and made clear that “everything is on the table,” while stressing that any agreement would need to work for all parties involved.
At the same time, he cautioned that many details still need to be resolved, from competition format to media rights and branding. “It is too premature to say this is the deal we are going to do,” Bueno said, though he added that the league has a “strong plan” even if no outside deal is reached.
Bueno also addressed the ticketing problems that affected Fenerbahce fans during the semifinal session in Athens. He said the issue was fixed, that 187 people were affected, and that everyone with a valid ticket was eventually admitted.
The franchise announcement gives the EuroLeague its clearest signal yet about where it is heading. Bueno’s message in Athens was simple: the league wants more stability, more value and a long-term structure built for growth.
