NBA Could Face $76 Billion Roadblock Against League Expansion

NBA Could Face $76 Billion Roadblock Against League Expansion originally appeared on Athlon Sports.

For the past five years or so, NBA fans have urged the league's officials to add at least one more team to the competition, with the Seattle SuperSonics drawing the most attention.

Besides Seattle, another city that has been mentioned as a potential expansion location is Las Vegas. With teams in the NFL (the Las Vegas Raiders), NHL (Las Vegas Knights), and the WNBA (Las Vegas Aces), many believe the next step is securing an NBA franchise for "Sin City."

Las Vegas, coincidentally, will host the board of governors meeting on Tuesday, and the expansion to the two aforementioned cities is expected to be a topic of discussion.

David Aldridge and Mike Vorkunov of The Athletic report that a potential expansion plan could be met with resistance from owners this time. While Seattle remains a strong candidate to rejoin the NBA, the new media rights deal might have changed the owners' minds about adding two more teams to the league.

"Central to that reticence is the league’s new 10-year, $76 billion media rights deal, beginning next season, with new partners NBC, Peacock – NBC’s streaming service – and Amazon Prime, along with existing partners ABC and ESPN. Warner Bros. Discovery, which had broadcast NBA games since 1989, was left out of the new deal.

"Several owners would, at present, rather begin collecting and splitting the massive new revenues among the existing teams, rather than bringing in new partners that would also receive a cut of the financial pie."

While the WNBA announced three more expansion teams (the Golden State Valkyries, Toronto Tempo, Portland Fire and the unnamed squads in Philadelphia, Detroit and Cleveland), bringing the total to six new teams in the next five years, the NBA is still pondering its options about the best route to follow.

Commissioner Adam Silver stated before that he prioritizes having enough talent for every team to at least have a chance to compete for a championship. The situation might be different now, with owners seemingly going in a different direction.

Related: Adam Silver Provides Update on NBA Expansion Amid Seattle Rumors

This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Jul 15, 2025, where it first appeared.