The NBA is expected to announce on Monday that they have reached a nine-year television contract with ESPN and TNT worth a staggering $24 billion.
NBA to announce $24 billion/9 year deal w/ ESPN and TNT on Monday. Annual average value nearly 3x current deal.
— Richard Sandomir (@RichSandomir) October 6, 2014
Rich Sandomir of the New York Times reported that the new pact will infuse the NBA with almost $2.7 billion per year and kicks off before the 2016-2017 season. The agreement proves to be almost three times the current deal of $930 million a season that it now has with ESPN and Turner.
The arrangement far exceeds previous estimates reported by SB Nation that the contract would be closer to $2 billion per year.
Fox Sports was rumored to have made a bid as well, but the NBA did not include any new rights holders. USA Today reported that the contract was finished before ESPN and TNT’s exclusive negotiation window with the league had expired.
According to the WSJ, the league plans on launching a new live streaming service in conjunction with ESPN. The internet platform will webcast live regular season games making them available to people who aren’t cable or satellite TV customers.
The agreement will likely provide a huge increase in the league’s salary cap. Although the teams and players anticipated that a new contract would up the salary cap, they were not likely expecting one this large.
COMMENTS
Please let us know if you're having issues with commenting.