EuroLeague has approved major financial changes as it wrapped up the 2025-2026 season. The competition’s 13 shareholder clubs have agreed to eliminate the hard salary cap that was scheduled to take effect in the 2027-2028 season, pending final approval by the General Assembly.
The decision means the planned “High Remuneration Level,” which would have limited player payroll to 60% of a club’s revenue, will not be implemented for now. EuroLeague stressed that the measure has not been abandoned permanently and could still be introduced in the future.
Instead, the league will continue with its soft salary cap system. Under this model, clubs can allocate up to 40% of their net revenue to player salaries, while the wages of up to three designated franchise players per team remain exempt from the calculation.
EuroLeague also announced a 12% increase in revenue for the 2025-2026 season. Although the league did not disclose its total revenue, commercial revenue had already surpassed €100 million during the previous season. The competition also confirmed that revenue distributions to clubs will increase by at least 10%.
During the meeting, Real Madrid officially renewed its EuroLeague license for another 10 years. The league also reaffirmed its plan to expand from 18 to 24 teams starting with the 2026-2027 season while continuing to evaluate competition formats that preserve a full round-robin schedule and better integrate with the European basketball calendar.
EuroLeague CEO Chus Bueno confirmed that the process of converting long-term club licenses into franchise licenses is expected to be completed next season, with the application process for new franchises officially opening on July 1, 2026.
The franchise expansion is expected to generate approximately €400 million in entry fees, allowing each of the league’s 13 founding clubs to receive more than €30 million. Franchise fees are expected to range from €50 million to €90 million, depending on the club.
Bueno also revealed that 37% of EuroLeague shareholder clubs achieved financial sustainability during the last season, with the league expecting that figure to exceed 70% within the next two to three years.
In addition, EuroLeague will officially unveil EuroLeague+ on July 7, a new digital platform designed to become the home of European basketball. The platform’s beta version is scheduled to launch in September.