EuroLeague Set to Make Major Changes: Following NBA’s Example, Salary Cap and Conferences Will Be Introduced

The 2025–26 men’s basketball EuroLeague report, which includes details regarding the number of clubs participating, the format, the salary cap’s minimum and maximum limits, how the issue of disparate taxes will be resolved, and which teams would receive new licenses, was published by the Greek media.

To boost income and interest, EuroLeague (Turkish Airlines EuroLeague for sponsorship reasons) is settling administrative issues this summer in between the two competitive seasons. The top European men’s basketball league made at least two significant decisions in this regard. The first is related to the impending expansion of teams from 18 to 20, and the second is related to the imposition of the salary cap, like the competition EuroLeague has been trying to reach in terms of quality and popularity for many years, the NBA. Both decisions will apply to the season after the next one in which Panathinaikos B.C. will try to defend the title they won this May even though they were, at one point, only the No. 5 favorites to do so based on odds of basketball betting sites.

20-Team Plan and Ideas About the New Code of Doing Finance

The EuroLeague has long moved up to the second-best basketball club competition in the world, with the NBA being the most attractive. It seems that the EuroLeague teams have also learned that there’s money available from unexplored sources, which they wish to pursue.

Given this and based on reports from Gazzetta.gr from the most recent league’s general meeting in Barcelona, Spain, it appears that the decision was made to expand the number of teams to 20 starting in the 2025–26 season. It was determined to go from 13 teams having contracts (licenses, if you will) to 15 or perhaps 16. This choice is made having the game’s expansion, player interest, and financial gain in mind.

It’s possible that the teams may be split up into NBA-style districts/conferences under the arrangement with more clubs, but it’s unclear if these conferences will be based on geography or something else entirely. There will still be a lot of matches, though. The precise format is unknown. Though there are alternative options, each club will play more games during the regular season, which might put even more strain on the players than they already are.

Limits of Salary Cap

Although the EuroLeague didn’t invent the salary cap, nor is it considering it now for the first time, there are some new and significant elements. EuroLeague’s salary cup is modeled after the NBA, whose shareholding clubs seek to preserve specific budgetary balances, and that on a much larger scale than EuroLeague plans to do. This idea was recently re-imposed at the EuroLeague shareholders’ general meeting and is proposed that the limit be set at a little over 12 million euros. The sum pertains to the maximum financial commitment they can undertake for player and coach contracts only, excluding other costs. Furthermore, it’s about net earnings rather than gross earnings.

This decision provides the answer to the tax issue because tax rates vary from nation to nation or even from a certain country’s region to another region (as is the situation, for instance, in Spain). The salary cap will have a minimum amount, in addition to a maximum amount, that the participating clubs must have at their disposal: a minimum budget will be seven million euros (net earnings).