Sporticast 471: The NBA’s European Expansion Is Starting to Take Shape

On the latest Sporticast episode, hosts Scott Soshnick and Eben Novy-Williams discuss some of the biggest sports business stories of the week, including the latest in the NBA’s plans for a European league.

NBA commissioner Adam Silver and deputy commissioner Mark Tatum are in Europe this week meeting with potential investors and partners in the NBA’s planned European league. The meetings reportedly included PE firms like KKR, CVC and RedBird Capital, politicians like UK prime minister Keir Starmer, and sovereign funds like one from Abu Dhabi. The NBA is working with FIBA to launch a league that will have franchised teams in cities across the continent, and potential slots available for clubs in the well-established EuroLeauge.

Next they talk about Marc Lasry’s interest in the Connecticut Sun. The WNBA franchise has outgrown its current owners, but has it also outgrown its market? The Sun are the only major pro team in Connecticut, and they play in the smallest market in the WNBA. The hosts talk about whether the most recent expansion process, with cities like Austin and Nashville emerging without teams, indicates that the Sun’s days in Connecticut are numbered.

They also talk about a new product from Topgolf Callaway. The golf company’s Odyssey brand recently created a new putter modeled after the one used by Happy Gilmore in the Adam Sandler movies. The product was launched via gamified options at Topgolf facilities.

They close by talking again about Deion Sanders. A recent Sportico column broke down all of the commercial overlaps with the Colorado coach’s recent press conference divulging his battle with bladder cancer. That includes companies that Deion co-owns, brands that pay him as an endorser, and partners of the Buffaloes athletic program.

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