The NBA is moving closer to reaching agreements with several top European football clubs to establish a new transcontinental basketball league in Europe, according to four anonymous sources with direct knowledge of the negotiations who spoke to The Athletic.

NBA Deputy Commissioner Mark Tatum delivered remarks at the European Club Association's annual general assembly on Tuesday.

The NBA has long sought partnerships with leading European football clubs, hoping to leverage their significant financial resources and strong brand influence to make them founding members of NBA Europe.

NBA Europe is scheduled to launch in the fall. Negotiations have been ongoing for several months, and sources from both the football and basketball worlds indicate that recent developments show significant progress in the NBA's efforts to reach deals with major football clubs. These sources requested anonymity because negotiations are ongoing.

Mark Tatum, NBA Deputy Commissioner and President Adam Silver's principal representative for international affairs, attended the European Club Association's (ECA) annual general assembly on Tuesday. The meeting was hosted by the ECA, with PSG President Nasser Al-Khelaifi serving as host.

Sources indicate that what Tatum said at the meeting may have been less significant than who invited him and who attended, which is viewed as an important sign that the NBA is gradually moving toward collaboration with European football giants.

PSG, controlled by Qatar Sports Investments, has long been considered a strong candidate for establishing a Paris basketball team to participate in NBA Europe.

On Tuesday, Tatum and George Aivazoglou, NBA Senior Vice President and Head of Europe and Middle East, were seen engaged in private discussions with executives from PSG, Barcelona, Bayern Munich, Real Madrid, and AC Milan. These football giants have all expressed interest in joining NBA Europe. Notably, both PSG and AC Milan currently do not have their own basketball clubs.

Sources indicate that the NBA's proposal, which includes acquiring EuroLeague Basketball and merging it with the new NBA Europe, will be discussed at the EuroLeague shareholders meeting in Italy next week.

"Clearly, if negotiations between the NBA and these football clubs were not progressing in the right direction, Tatum would not have been invited to this meeting," said an official from a European football club interested in NBA Europe during the conference in Copenhagen.

The event was the ECA General Assembly, where participants, including executives from various European football clubs, engaged in a full day of networking, workshops, and presentations.

Tatum took the stage for a TED-talk-style session designed to allow participants to hear insights and gain inspiration from leaders in the sports industry and other sectors.

Before Tatum spoke, there was Andrew Wilson, CEO of video game giant EA, and Will Ahmed, a founder of wearable technology company Whoop.

When Tatum took the stage, there was considerable anticipation for a topic familiar to the audience: the significant economic benefits that Europe's major sport—basketball—could bring.

However, Tatum knew exactly how to deliver his message. He heavily emphasized football's influence, European fans' passion, and the unique European sports business model.

Tatum then applied some caution, noting that European basketball does not receive a "fair share" of European sports consumer attention. Currently, Europe's various basketball leagues collectively account for only around 1% of the European sports market.

According to him, one reason for this is the near absence of top basketball events in some of Europe's largest and economically strongest countries. This is what NBA Europe aims to change.

Tatum did not reveal much previously unknown information in his Tuesday remarks. He stated that NBA Europe plans to launch with 12 core franchises and 4 wildcard teams.

As previously reported, these 12 core franchises are planned to be based in London, Paris, Rome, Milan, Berlin, Munich, Istanbul, and Madrid, as well as Athens, Barcelona, Manchester, and Lyon.

In his remarks, Tatum also discussed some inspiration the NBA has drawn from European football leagues and clubs.

"We have learned a lot from European football over the years," Tatum said. "We launched the mid-season tournament, the NBA Cup. This concept came directly from European football and European sports. European football has a tradition of holding cup competitions during the league season, and we thought, 'Why couldn't we do that?' So we adapted that concept to the NBA."

"I think, as I just mentioned, one of our goals in trying to build our own league in Europe is to replicate the success you have achieved. Football is clearly one of the world's greatest sports, and European football is one of the largest commercial entities globally. We simply want to learn as much as possible from all of you here."

Tatum also mentioned the NBA's practice of adding corporate advertising patches to jerseys, a concept also borrowed from European football.

"If Manchester United can remove their name from their jerseys and give that space to a sponsor, then the Chicago Bulls can certainly add a small advertising patch to theirs."

"Nine years ago, we used this example to persuade NBA team owners to accept this concept," Tatum said. He also called for the construction of new basketball arenas in various regions throughout Europe.

Currently, only a few basketball venues in Europe meet NBA standards, and new teams in London and Paris may not be able to use existing local arenas, meaning significant and expensive new facility construction will be required across Europe.

"We want to establish this league in Europe while also driving greater investment in basketball development and player training, including building youth academies, investing in infrastructure, and truly making basketball a commercially viable industry."

"What we are seeking is a commitment from all parties to invest in grassroots basketball programs, invest in arenas, and promote basketball growth across Europe." To advance basketball in Europe, the NBA is seeking assistance from European football.

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