Fenerbahçe has renewed their EuroLeague Licence and will remain in the competition for ten more years. Real Madrid is now the last of the 13 Euroleague shareholders to not have signed a contract extension with the basketball competition, instead waiting to be first in line for the NBA Europe project developed with FIBA Europe.
The EuroLeague, top club basketball competition in Europe, is privately owned by 13 teams that are shareholders, who also have permanent rights for the competition with a A-Licence. All the other teams, Efes, Baskonia, Barcelona, Maccabi, Olimpia Milan, Olympiakos, Panathinaikos, Bayern Munich, Zalguiris Kaunas, CSKA, and ASVEL, have signed ten-year agreements with the EuroLeague with a 10 million euro exit clause/sanction if they were to leave and participate in other competitions, such as the NBA Europe.
"We are also closely monitoring NBA Europe's vision for European basketball and its perspective on the global development of the game. We consider this interest, along with other investment initiatives, to be highly valuable for the future of European basketball", said the Turkish club, who said that the hope for collaboration and mutual opportunities between EuroLeague and NBA Europe (via Basket News).
Real Madrid remains the biggest team in Europe to still not commit to the future of the competition, waiting on developments by the NBA Europe project, expected to start in 2027/28 (buy could be delayed) with a mix of new teams built from scratch in European capitals such as London, Rome, Paris, and Berlin, and some existing teams, some of which would qualify via merits on the FIBA Champions League or domestic competitions.
Fenerbahçe has made the announcement ahead of the elections on June 6-7 and days before their participation in the EuroLeague Final Four, in which face home favourite Olympiacos on Friday and then against Real Madrid or Valencia Basket on Sunday for a second consecutive title.