While Major League Baseball's (MLB's) popularity wanes and safety issues plague the National Football League (NFL), the National Basketball Association (NBA) continues to shine. Contributing to its growth, the NBA has focused on expanding basketball viewership overseas to Europe and China.

On the world stage, basketball is second only to soccer. With expanding viewership, revenue in the NBA has significantly grown. The average NBA team is worth $3.85 billion according to an estimate by Forbes' estimate in late October 2023. That's an increase of about 35% in a year. The Golden State Warriors alone made $7.7 billion during the 2022-2023 season.

Basketball-related income includes broadcast rights, advertising, merchandising, and concessions, among other things. The NBA's deal with ESPN and Turner Sports for U.S. broadcast rights will bring in an average of $2.66 billion a season through the 2024-2025 season.

Basketball-Related Income

Most of the revenue generated by the NBA and its 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:subsidiaries is classified as basketball-related income (BRI). This includes ticket purchases and concessions, broadcast deals, and 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:merchandising rights from jersey and apparel sales.

Not included in BRI are proceeds toward expansion teams, fines levied throughout the season, and revenue sharing.

Because BRI contributes to calculating the salary cap, 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:revenue sharing must be excluded from BRI because it would present an economic advantage to big market teams. Hypothetically, the highest revenue-generating teams such as the Los Angeles Lakers or the New York Knicks would drive the salary cap up, forcing small-market teams to spend exorbitant amounts to retain players. This leads to an unsustainable system and economic disparity among 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:franchises. For this reason, rev꧒enue sharing is not designated as🎉 basketball-related income.

Television Deals

Over the past 15 yea🐬rs, TV viewership in general has steadily declined due to competition from streaming services. However, live🌄 sports have remained largely immune to this trend. The networks are paying huge amounts to retain the rights to televise these games.

The NBA is now nearing the end of a nine-year, $24 billion media rights deal with  and  that was announced in 2016. That deal pays the NBA a total of $2.66 billion each season. The previous deal, signed in 2007, cost the two networks $930 million a year.

The deal increased ESPN's television, digital, highlights, audio, data, and international NBA rights. Games will air on ESPN and TNT through the 2024-25 season.

Ticket Sales and Concessions

While not a primary revenue stream, ticket sales remain an important way for teams to make money. The Chicago Bulls, who continually have some of the highest attendance rates in the league, had an average attendance of 20,624 people at home games in the 2023-24 season.

The New York Knicks used to have the 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:most expensive tickets in the league. However, the Golden State Warriors now report the highest ticket costs, followed by the Los Angeles Lakers. The Knicks still have some of the most expensive tickets in the league, and hold the position of third most expensive tickets.

We caꦡn also look at the F🐼an Cost Index (FCI), which is the cost of taking a family of four to an NBA game. This metric includes the cost of tickets, concessions, and parking. According to Chicago sports business firm Team Sports Marketing, the FCI for an NBA game in 2023 was $444.12.

Licensing Agreements and Sponsorships

The NBA and Nike signed an eight-year, $1 billion contract for branded basketball shoes and apparel that began with the 2017-2018 season. Th𝕴is represented a 245% annual increase from its previous deal, with 🎀Adidas.

It is estimated that Nike brands control 90% of U.S. basketball shoe sales. Many of the NBA’s biggest stars, including LeBron James, Kevin Durant, and Giannis Antetokounmpo, have lucrative endorsement deals with the world’s largest shoe and apparel company.

When you attend an NBA game, you can hardly miss the signs of sponsors and brands located around the arena. In the 2023-2024 season, the NBA generated a record $1.5 billion in revenue from these 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:corporate sponsors.

Banks and financial services firms are the biggest spenders, but technology firms are increasingly associating thꦜemselves with the NBA.

Revenue Sharing

Like the MLB and NFL, the NBA operates with a revenue-sharing system. As noted above, revenue from t🥃his system is not included in basketball-related income.

Revenue sharing in the NBA addresses the inequitable circumstances between small and big markets. As a result, all teams pool their annual revenue and redistribute it from high-grossing teams to low-grossing ones. By these means, each team will receive revenue equal to the 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:salary cap that year.

To receive the full revenue-sharing benefits, the revenue structure requires small market teams to generate revenue equal to at least 70% of the league average.

The salary cap for the 2023-24 season will be $136.02 million per team.

International Growth

With more international players appearing on NBA rosters, the sport's global appeal is growing.

On the opening night of the 2023-2024 season, 125 international players from 40 countries were active on team rosters. They include two-time NBA MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo, who hails from Greece.

As this number continues to grow, the NBA will look to international markets to pro🔴mote media broadcasts and merchandise sales. We may even see European-based NBA teams in the not-too-distant future. 

The Bottom Line

Drawing interest domestically and abroad, the NBA has seen its popularity and revenue streams rapidly increase over the past few years. With a TV deal valued at $24 billion, a $1 billion Nike deal, an increasing number of corporate sponsors, rapid international growth, and an average NBA tea🦄m value nearing $4 bill💦ion, the NBA is firmly entrenched among the biggest and most valuable leagues in all of world sports.