Read in Browser [[link removed]]

Morning Edition

January 14, 2026

POWERED BY

The NBA is making progress in efforts to launch a new European league, but EuroLeague—Europe’s top tier of basketball—still has concerns about the planned new competitor. And as of now, 9 of EuroLeague’s 13 permanent teams have extended their licenses to play in the league for an additional decade.

— Ben Horney [[link removed]], Eric Fisher [[link removed]], and David Rumsey [[link removed]]

EuroLeague Defends Its Turf As NBA Pitches League to Investors [[link removed]]

Jeremy O'Brien-Front Office Sports

The NBA is in Europe pitching investors on its planned new league that could launch as soon as next year with franchises valued at up to $1 billion, but Europe’s top tier of basketball remains wary of the potential competitor.

EuroLeague sent the NBA a letter on Jan. 9 warning of potential legal action if the league continues to hold discussions with teams that are under long-term contracts to play in EuroLeague, a source familiar with the matter confirmed to Front Office Sports. News of the letter was first reported by Eurohoops [[link removed]].

Over the summer, NBA commissioner Adam Silver and other NBA officials reportedly met with leaders from Real Madrid to discuss the possibility of it joining the planned new league, according to The Athletic [[link removed]]. In addition to Real Madrid, the NBA has had its eye on Barca Barcelona, ASVEL Basket of Villeurbanne, and Fenerbahçe Istanbul, The Athletic reported.

A source familiar with the NBA’s thinking tells FOS the league has not had any improper talks, saying it has “engaged with all parties in a lawful and appropriate manner,” and has “not engaged with anyone about any opportunity that they are not free to discuss.”

How We Got Here

The NBA’s European pursuit became formalized last March, when it and the International Basketball Federation (FIBA) announced they would jointly explore [[link removed]] a new pro men’s league in the region. The idea picked up steam throughout the year—Silver said at the FOS Tuned In summit in September [[link removed]] that the league could launch within a couple of years, although he cautioned there are European arena infrastructure and regulatory hurdles. More recently, he said conversations with potential investors could get more serious “ sometime in late January. [[link removed]]”

Silver is part of a league contingent currently in Europe to attend regular-season NBA games taking place in London and Berlin. As part of the trip, Silver is also pitching potential investors, sponsors, and media partners on the planned new league, which could debut as soon as 2027. As part of the pitching, the league will provide potential investors with access to internal materials, including financial projections, according to Bloomberg [[link removed]]. The NBA will own a 50% stake in the league, which is expected to include at least 12 franchises, Bloomberg reported.

The NBA is “confident and very encouraged” about the level of interest it has received from stakeholders across Europe, according to a source familiar with the league’s thinking.

A representative for the NBA tells FOS that Silver will participate in a press conference Thursday in Berlin ahead of the game between the Magic and Grizzlies. The NBA’s plans in Europe and progress with the league will likely be asked about.

EuroLeague’s Reservations

EuroLeague has not been completely supportive of the NBA’s upcoming entry. In April, EuroLeague said it viewed the potential creation of a new European league as a “ threat to the long-standing traditions of European basketball, [[link removed]]” while noting it was open to discussing any plans that could contribute to the “continued growth” of the sport in the region. That same month, the Union of EuroLeague Basketball Officials signaled “ unwavering commitment [[link removed]]” to EuroLeague.

Currently, 9 of EuroLeague’s 13 permanent teams have extended their licenses to play in the league for an additional decade—most recently, Barcelona informed the league and its teams of its intention to sign a 10-year extension, a source confirmed to FOS. That was also first reported by Eurohoops [[link removed]]. Barcelona’s extension has not yet been publicly announced.

Signing to stay with EuroLeague doesn’t mean teams can’t still depart for the NBA’s league. Exit clauses in renewal agreements stipulate that EuroLeague teams would be required to pay an $11.6 million (€10 million) penalty to exit the league before the contract’s expiration date, plus additional damages in an amount that would be determined depending on the situation, a source told FOS. The €10 million exit fee, which was first reported by BasketNews [[link removed]], existed before the NBA’s planned European expansion.

Collaboration Is Still Possible

EuroLeague remains open to some kind of collaboration with the NBA and FIBA, according to a person familiar with EuroLeague’s thinking. The two sides have met several times over the past year, including once in May and again in October, but no agreements have been reached.

Following the October meeting, EuroLeague said it appreciated the [[link removed]] “constructive dialogue” with the NBA and FIBA, while “emphasizing that any potential framework for cooperation must respect” its core principles. Those include a shared benefit for both sides, the preservation of European basketball’s “cultural integrity,” and more.

EuroLeague is “looking for ways to collaborate and has been proactive in offering different possibilities,” a source familiar with EuroLeague’s thinking told FOS. “But it takes two to tango. It’s complicated, and no cooperation framework has been reached.”

A source familiar with the NBA’s thinking told FOS the planned new league is “designed to follow European sporting culture by offering a transparent, merit-based pathway for teams to qualify,” while also aligning its schedule with domestic league and national team schedules so that players can represent their club and national team year-round.

A representative for EuroLeague declined to comment.

SPONSORED BY ENERGIZER

Power That Goes the Distance

When Coach Energizer Bunny™ is calling the plays, your gameday devices keep GOING AND GOING™. Energizer [[link removed]]® Ultimate Lithium® AA batteries are the world’s longest-lasting AA battery.

Energizer Ultimate Lithium AA batteries power your most critical devices like smart home devices, outdoor surveillance systems, digital cameras, and handheld games.

An Energizer Ultimate Lithium AA battery [[link removed]] can hold power up to 25 years in storage. Energizer Ultimate Lithium AA batteries are 100% Leak Proof (based on standard use).

Energizer Ultimate Lithium AA batteries perform in extreme temperatures from -40°F to 140°F.

NFL Wild-Card Games Draw Massive Viewership [[link removed]]

Eric Hartline-Imagn Images

A monster regular season for NFL viewership has continued with similarly massive audiences for the league’s wild-card games this past weekend.

The initial five wild-card games played last Saturday and Sunday set a series of league and network milestones—in many cases improving dramatically from last year’s group of opening playoff games [[link removed]]—and included a new record for any exclusively streamed game in NFL history. The latest viewership figures included:

Rams at Panthers (Fox): The Los Angeles victory over upstart Carolina on Saturday afternoon averaged 28 million viewers, up 7% from the comparable game last year, and the most-watched Saturday afternoon wild-card game on any network since 2011. Packers at Bears (Amazon): The dramatic comeback win by Chicago [[link removed]] on Saturday night averaged 31.6 million viewers, representing not only the company’s most-watched NFL game ever, by far, but the league’s most-streamed game on any platform—beating the average of 27.5 million that Netflix averaged [[link removed]] for a late-afternoon Christmas game less than three weeks ago. It’s been a season full of milestones for Amazon, including three different Thursday Night Football audience records during the regular season. The figure for the Green Bay–Chicago contest smashed the comparable wild-card game last year, also on Amazon, by 43%. Bills at Jaguars (CBS): The game, won by Buffalo, averaged 32.7 million viewers. That figure is up 5% from the comparable game last season and represents the most-watched early Sunday wild-card contest on record for any network. 49ers at Eagles (Fox): As San Francisco ended Philadelphia’s bid to repeat as league champion, the late Sunday afternoon game averaged 41 million viewers, most of any game the entire weekend and Fox’s most-watched wild-card game since 2015. The figure beat a comparable Packers-Eagles game from last year by 14%. Chargers at Patriots (NBC): New England’s first playoff victory since the 2018 season, before the departure of iconic quarterback Tom Brady, averaged 28.9 million viewers in Sunday prime time. That was just behind the 29 million average viewership for a comparable Commanders-Buccaneers game last year, but it still represented the most-watched Sunday-night broadcast of any type on U.S. television since Super Bowl LIX last February.

ESPN’s viewership figure for the Monday-night wild-card game between the Texans and Steelers is expected Wednesday. That matchup, a blowout win for Houston, proved to be the final game in Pittsburgh for head coach Mike Tomlin [[link removed]] after 19 seasons.

Viewership Trends

The initial wild-card viewership totals follow a 2026 NFL regular season that averaged 18.7 million viewers per game [[link removed]], the league’s highest figure since 1989 and one that extended the NFL’s dominance as the most popular programming in all of U.S. television.

The divisional round, one that includes varying degrees of rest for the competing teams [[link removed]], will begin Saturday. Late Monday, the NFL finalized the broadcast slots and networks for the four games.

On Saturday, CBS will air the Bills at the Broncos at 4:30 p.m. ET, followed by the 49ers at the Seahawks on Fox at 8 p.m. ET. On Sunday, ESPN and ABC will air the Texans at the Patriots at 3 p.m. ET, followed by the Rams at the Bears on NBC at 6:30 p.m. ET.

League scheduling decisions include a wide variety of factors, including market sizes of the competing teams, fairness to broadcasters both within a single year and across multiple seasons, on-field histories, weather, and ticket sales, among others. The choice to place the upcoming Rams-Bears game in the late Sunday slot was driven materially by a desire to have the Nos. 2 and 3 U.S. media markets in that final broadcast position, as viewership typically builds within each postseason weekend.

Remaining LIV Stars Say They Won’t Follow Koepka to PGA Tour [[link removed]]

Dennis Schneidler-Imagn Images

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — LIV Golf stars Bryson DeChambeau, Jon Rahm, and Cam Smith have all indicated they do not plan to apply for reinstatement of their PGA Tour memberships, in the wake of Brooks Koepka’s swift return [[link removed]] to the tour.

“I’m contracted through 2026, so excited about this year,” DeChambeau said at a captain’s press conference at LIV’s preseason Teams Week.

“I’m not planning on going anywhere,” Rahm said. “I’m focused on LIV for this year.”

DeChambeau, Rahm, and Smith are the only three LIV players eligible to apply for PGA Tour reinstatement under the new “Returning Member Program,” which was officially rolled out on Monday.

To qualify, players must not have been PGA Tour members for at least two years, and also won one of the four major championships or the Players Championship between 2022 and 2025. There is a Feb. 2 deadline to apply for reinstatement.

“I made a decision to come here and I stand by it,” Smith said [[link removed]] earlier Tuesday.

Rahm said he wasn’t surprised by Monday’s news and that he had heard rumors for a few weeks about a potential announcement regarding a pathway back to the PGA Tour.

“There’s been quite a few rumors I’ve heard about for a while,” Rahm said. “So, not really surprised at all by any news yesterday.”

DeChambeau has one year remaining [[link removed]] on his LIV contract. Rahm’s deal, which was signed ahead of the 2024 season, is believed to have multiple years remaining. Specifics of Smith’s deal are not clear. All are believed to originally have nine-figure deals to join LIV, like Koepka did.

The reaction from PGA Tour players about Koepka’s return has been mostly positive so far [[link removed]]. LIV’s Sergio García told Front Office Sports [[link removed]] he wasn’t surprised the PGA Tour allowed Koepka back so quickly.

SPONSORED BY ENERGIZER

Power That Goes the Distance

When Coach Energizer Bunny™ is calling the plays, your gameday devices keep GOING AND GOING™. Energizer [[link removed]]® Ultimate Lithium® AA batteries are the world’s longest-lasting AA battery.

Energizer Ultimate Lithium AA batteries power your most critical devices like smart home devices, outdoor surveillance systems, digital cameras, and handheld games.

An Energizer Ultimate Lithium AA battery [[link removed]] can hold power up to 25 years in storage. Energizer Ultimate Lithium AA batteries are 100% Leak Proof (based on standard use).

Energizer Ultimate Lithium AA batteries perform in extreme temperatures from -40°F to 140°F.

Editors’ Picks College Sports Watchdog Will Enforce Rules Without Legal Backing [[link removed]]by Amanda Christovich [[link removed]]Without signed participant agreements, the enforcement body may not have any teeth. Tom Brady’s Wild-Card Clinic Showed He’s Made the Jump [[link removed]]by Michael McCarthy [[link removed]]Brady has been more willing to criticize the play of QBs like Jalen Hurts. Fanatics Is Already in Apparel, Collectibles, Betting—Now It’s a Content Studio [[link removed]]by Eric Fisher [[link removed]]The merchandising giant is pushing into a new business vertical again. Question of the Day

Would you watch the NBA's planned European league?

YES [[link removed]] NO [[link removed]]

Tuesday’s result: 39% said Bryson DeChambeau will return to the PGA Tour. 29% of respondents said Jon Rahm. 13% said another LIV player. 19% said no one else will.

Events [[link removed]] Video [[link removed]] Games [[link removed]] Show [[link removed]] Shop [[link removed]] Written by Ben Horney [[link removed]], Eric Fisher [[link removed]], David Rumsey [[link removed]] Edited by Lisa Scherzer [[link removed]], Catherine Chen [[link removed]]

If this email was forwarded to you, you can subscribe here [[link removed]].

Update your preferences [link removed] / Unsubscribe [link removed]

Copyright © 2026 Front Office Sports. All rights reserved.

460 Park Avenue South, 7th Floor, New York NY, 10016