Today, Money Means Everything

Here are two images showing the top paid players in both the NBA and Euroleague from 2013. Right off the bat, it's clear that the NBA players blow the Euroleague players out of the water, and probably off of the planet as well with their massive annual salaries.

Aside from the 1st rank Kobe Bryant from the LA Lakers with a whopping $30.45 million salary, the next four down the list average at around $21.75 million a year, which is still an insane amount of money. 

Contrasting these numbers to those of Euroleague's, it's almost comical. Aside from the 1st rank Theodoros Papaloukas on Olympiacos with a salary of 3.5 million euros ($4.85 million), the next four down the list average at around 2.4 million euros annually. These numbers are 10 times less than those of the NBA.

 This shouldn't come as a surprise though. It's like comparing sprouts to fully grown trees. Because of this gigantic gap between them, it's clear that the Euroleague will virtually never surpass the NBA in terms of popularity and growth, which is why they should seek to learn from them, if their objective is to grow as the NBA has in the past, and continues to today. 

Do you think their collaboration for Euroleagues benefit will result in positive outcomes? Either recognition wise or financially? Or both? 

Do you think that the NBA would use or exploit Euroleague just to infiltrate the European market for their own personal gain?

Euroleague and the NBA

The Euroleague is the collective best group of basketball teams in Europe who come together to compete in a league outside of the leagues that they compete in inside their home country. On the contrary most European teams in the Euroleague are losing money and the NBA is involved with capturing financial success wherever they can. So this raises the question of to what level the NBA would be interested in being involved with the Euroleague. The best possible outcome for both sides would be for the European league to allow the NBA to take it under its wing and utilize it as a seperate entity but under a different name.

The NBA is a global power and one of the if not THE most well known sports leagues in this world thanks to the exposure and they love that it brings to people from all over the world. The arenas and infrastructure are quietly becoming reality and Adam Silver, commissioner, of the NBA recently said that the NBA could look to expand not to Seattle or Las Vegas but instead to European cities.

"The American league would prefer to deal directly with big clubs which will be ready to invest into new arenas, or modify existing ones according to the NBA standards, and create franchises from scratch only where they are needed, practically only in Paris and London."(Barkas). This would not be expansion of the Euroleague but expansion of the NBA onto European soil something that ex-Comissioner David Stern took very seriously but his predecessor Adam Silver recently stressed that a potential division in Europe is highly possible and something he's is taking into consideration. What exactly would this mean for the Euroleague if the NBA took away some of their biggest markets with NBA expansion teams?

http://www.eurohoops.net/2014/02/dribbling/41691

Matt Vine

Lamar Odom signs with Laboral Kuxta

If you are an avid sports fan like myself, you might have heard of the Euroleague.  However, this is not the case for everyone.  You might be wondering, how does Euroleague influence the NBA?, or can Euroleague help the NBA?, better yet, can the Euroleague and the NBA help each other?  The answer, my friends, is yes.

As any great marketeer knows, globalization and brand advertising are vital keys to success.  Today, we are going to look at how the Euroleague and the NBA use these tools to become benefactors of one another.  Less than a week ago, the former Los Angeles Laker, Lamar Odom, announced he will join the Euroleague Club: Laboral Kuxta.  This Spain club will benefit greatly from adding the 34 year old NBA veteran to its roster.  Mainly, it creates exposure to the club, as Odom is a big named player who has been teammates with the likes of Kobe Bryant.  People associate him to the Los Angeles Lakers, a professional team that is known around the globe.  This signing, will in turn give the club a probable increase in ticket sales, merchandise revenue, etc.  The president of the club, Josean Querejeta was quoted saying this about the signing: "We're very happy to have signed such an important player who has had a long a fruitful career in the NBA."  Odom is not the first NBA player to come play for Laboral Kuxta.  Tiago Splitter, Goran Dragic, Luisa Scola, and Jose Calderon have all graced the club with their presence before finding a home in the NBA.  The Euroleague will continue to serve as the predominant source of professional basketball internationally, and will continue to gain from NBA influence.

Source: http://espn.go.com/nba/story/_/id/10473042/lamar-odom-make-comeback-spain

Written By: Alex Sharrin

Continuing to Globalize

While basketball might be the world's second-most popular sport, it has a long way to go if it ever hopes to catch soccer.

Soccer continues to widen the gap between the two as its growth in popularity in the United States has been exponential. In a recent poll, prominent social scientist Rich Luker found that soccer is America's second-most popular sport for those aged 18-24. But what finally attracted Americans to soccer? Sure, many people point to the increased competition in the MLS, or the higher level of exposure caused by world-class soccer's availability on major networks. However, Luker, along with many others, believe much of America's transformation can be attributed to the success of EA Sport's FIFA video game. With FIFA, American's are finally establishing emotional connections to players and teams, leading Luker to believe that "FIFA [has] done more to advance the popularity of soccer than I have seen with any other sport."

While soccer is certainly doing its best to embrace its international audience, other sports are lagging behind; basketball hopes that will soon change. After a recent partnership was formed between Euroleague Basketball and 2K Sports, fans will finally be able to play the critically acclaimed NBA 2K14 video game with the addition of their favorite international basketball teams and players. With Euroleauge Basketball's inclusion in the global gaming community, many hope the game will further increase the globalization of basketball, similar to FIFA's affect on soccer.

Do you believe this is a smart strategy by Euroleague, or will gamers ignore the new addition? What are other ways Euroleague could attract new fans?

By Drew

Sources:

http://www.fordhamobserver.com/soccer-steadily-gaining-popularity-in-united-states/

http://espnfc.com/blog/_/name/relegationzone/id/291?cc=5739

http://www.euroleague.net/euroleague-basketball/news/i/114651/6330/2k-sports-nba-2k14-to-include-top-euroleague-basketball-teams-for-the-first-time-in-the-series

A little bit of History

NBA:

Like most beginnings, the road started off bumpy for the NBA. The division between Basketball Association of America (BAA) and National Basketball Association (NBA) caused many problems in the world of Basketball. The two different associations were constantly battling to beat the other in regards to players, fans, and overall popularity.

Eventually in 1949, the two decided to merge together and create, what we now know as, the National Basketball Association (NBA). After a rough period of transformation, the NBA began to gain popularity in the 1960's.

Today, the NBA has over millions of fans, thirty teams, and is worth up to $634 million.

Euroleague: 

Basketball shifted into Europe and was established by FIBA in 1958. It was not until 2000, when Euroleague was formed under a private organizational model.

In 2001, it adopted the Final Four model. Euroleague has gone through many changes since 2000, but now with the sponsorship of Turkish Airlines (2010-2011) it hopes to continue moving forward and gain popularity throughout Europe.


Looking Forward: 

Will Euroleague ever be able to compete with the NBA? How will Euroleague ever make basketball a draw in Europe since it is a place of soccer?

By Naamah Stockdale

http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/nba-is-born
http://www.euroleague.net/euroleague-basketball/news/i/92502/6330

Increasing Collaboration

Although Basketball in Europe is nowhere near as popular as Futbol, it doesn't mean the Euroleague should throw in the towel. The NBA and the Euroleague have made numerous steps to enhance their relationship and spread the sport of Basketball to more fans.

After a meeting in 2013, the NBA and Euroleague agreed to organize activities in the United Kingdom to increase awareness of the sport. Collaborating and organizing activities is one way to increase the awareness of Basketball in Europe, but in order to be successful like the NBA, the Euroleague has to learn from them, which is exactly what they have been doing.

Euroleague has openly stated their intentions to learn from the NBA with regards to rules and regulations. Euroleague showed this by presenting FIBA, the international basketball federation which defines the international rules of Basketball. With this, the NBA offered to help by supplying the Euroleague with some of their rules experts, with hopes to increase the attractiveness, excitement, and turn it into a more fast-paced game for the enjoyment of the fans and viewers.

The NBA and Euroleague have been collaborating since 2006, and have plans to continue this teamwork in the future to spread the sport of Basketball to more people internationally. Do you think their collaboration will lead to great success for Euroleague?


Source:
http://www.euroleague.net/euroleague-basketball/news/i/107741

Photo Source:
https://www.google.es/search?q=handshake&client=firefox-a&hs=QRy&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&channel=fflb&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ei=oyQKU-azIPK10QXhlIFY&ved=0CAkQ_AUoAQ&biw=1280&bih=616#channel=fflb&q=handshakes&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&tbm=isch&facrc=_&imgdii=_&imgrc=nqsarfw6q8jS9M%253A%3BfV5lf7BjAsqriM%3Bhttp%253A%252F%252Fsupercoolcreative.com%252Fwp-content%252Fuploads%252F2013%252F03%252FHandshakes.jpg%3Bhttp%253A%252F%252Fsupercoolcreative.com%252Fthe-coolaid-top-10-handshakes-for-winners%3B1680%3B1381

Jeremy Martin