Luka Dončić has money behind a club chasing an NBA Europe franchise, and the league is nearing decisions worth hundreds of millions of dollars without publicly settling whether an active NBA player can own one. In short, his investment is moving faster than the rulebook.
BC Roma (Basketball Club Roma, for context) added another headache on October 7, when it submitted a binding EuroLeague franchise bid while still pursuing NBA Europe's permanent Rome spot. It is the sort of paperwork that could have executives reaching for the aspirin. Dončić's club now has applications in front of both competitions, and neither place is secured.
Meanwhile, the NBA keeps pushing ahead. Deputy commissioner Mark Tatum said October 20 that club agreements were nearing completion, with an October 2027 launch still targeted. Even so, commissioner Adam Silver's answer at his June 3 Finals press conference leaves the ownership question hanging.
"In terms of whether it's Luka Dončić or other players owning teams, that's not been resolved yet. That's an issue we have to work through with our Players Association," Silver said.
How a Lakers star became a Rome Investor
The story starts with an old friend. Donnie Nelson, the former Dallas Mavericks executive who engineered Dončić's 2018 draft-night arrival, approached him last year about investing in an Italian team. Dončić recalled the invitation in an October Sports Illustrated interview.
"I said yes immediately," Dončić said.
Nelson's group announced its purchase of Vanoli Cremona in May, then moved the Italian top-flight club to Rome as BC Roma for 2026-27. Nelson is the lead investor and managing partner, alongside partners including former player Rimantas Kaukėnas and veteran coach Valerio Bianchini. At the announcement, Dončić described fulfilling a long-held ambition.
"I have dreamed about owning a team in Europe for a long time, to finally have this happen is amazing. Vanoli has a great history, and we are ready to take it to the next level in Rome," Dončić said.
Here is the thing, though. His ownership percentage remains undisclosed, and public reporting does not establish his voting or management rights. Those details could shape the NBA's eventual decision, because a small passive investment raises different questions from a stake that lets its holder help run the club.
Dončić has discussed NBA Europe with Silver several times, and his account of Silver's reaction sounded encouraging.
"He's very excited for it. I can't tell you everything. But he's excited," Dončić said.
Of course, an encouraging conversation cannot substitute for agreed ownership rules, especially while the investor still plays for the Lakers.
Why buyers will pay for a permanent place
NBA Europe plans 16 teams, made up of 12 permanent franchises and four annual qualifiers. Under its reported model, permanent teams avoid the yearly qualification process and relegation. As a result, buyers can build sponsorships, arena plans and a fan base without risking their league place each season. On top of the entry price, they still have to cover arena and operating expenses.
Bids of $500 million or more reportedly reached all 12 target cities, with several exceeding $1 billion. City AM linked Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund to London, Qatar Sports Investments to Paris and RedBird Capital to Milan, per its reporting. To be fair, these were reported interests, not franchise awards. Still, Dončić stands out in that investor pool because he also clocks in for an NBA team.
The league's financial pitch offers protection during the expensive early years. Sportico reported an initial 50-50 equity split between the NBA side and the 12 permanent franchise owners. Sports Business Journal previously described 52% for the NBA and FIBA, so the final ownership arrangement remains unsettled.
Sports Business Journal also reported that the NBA told bidders it would commit more than $3 billion to help cover early losses and limit repeated requests for fresh capital. Under Sportico's model, money initially flows heavily to clubs, and the NBA shares in net income once the league becomes profitable.
To put it simply, owning half the equity would mean waiting for half the profits, rather than taking half of every dollar coming in.
On his October 20 call, Tatum projected that permanent clubs will become profitable by Year 3 and explained the appeal to investors.
"Our model will provide clubs with a much quicker path to profitability," Tatum said.
Make no mistake, these are forecasts for a competition that has not played a game. They explain the interest, but bidders still need fans, sponsors and broadcasters to turn the promised income into cash.
What an active player may own
Here is where Dončić's situation gets tricky. The reported NBA Europe plan bars controlling NBA owners from buying its clubs, but a player investor is a different case. The current collective bargaining agreement prohibits direct player ownership of NBA teams. It contains no specific NBA Europe permission, and it requires jointly agreed rules for new player investments in NBA-affiliated businesses.
Silver explained the concern in June by pointing to the relationship between the two competitions.
"I will just add I think part of the determination will be what the basketball relationship will be between these teams and call it NBA Europe and the NBA. That obviously could complicate things if current NBA players are owners," Silver said.
As it turns out, the league and union have tackled a similar problem before. Under Article XXIX of the CBA, an NBA player may own up to 4% of one independent WNBA team, with all NBA players together limited to 8%. No NBA team owner or their family member can hold an interest in that club.
Player investors cannot hold governance roles, and their access to information is limited to annual audited team financials and required tax information.
In other words, the precedent separates investment returns from control. It suggests Dončić's eventual issue could concern how much he owns and what rights come with it, although nothing establishes that these WNBA limits will apply in Europe.
Then there is the union, which wants players to share in the new league's economics.
In an August interview, the NBPA (National Basketball Players Association) executive director David Kelly argued that NBA Europe benefits from the reputation players built.
"It's clearly being built on the backs of current NBA players, and prior NBA players, on the whole cachet that they brought to this league. And then to start a rival league that they do not participate in, participate in the economics of, we have a very serious problem with that," Kelly said.
Kelly acknowledged that the current CBA does not require that sharing and said formal negotiations had not begun. Ironically, Dončić sits on both sides of that conversation, since the union represents him while he invests in a club seeking entry.
Even so, he has not been identified as a negotiator or spokesman for Kelly's position, and it remains open whether the ownership question gets settled alongside the revenue dispute.
The agreement runs through June 2030, although an October 2028 opt-out notice could end it after 2028-29. Silver has not tied ownership approval to that next negotiation.
BC Roma keeps a second door open
While all of that plays out, BC Roma's EuroLeague application gives it another route to a permanent place.
EuroLeague plans 24 teams for 2027-28 and up to eight new franchises. Its 13 existing shareholders would convert their licenses without an entry fee, while newcomers face separately negotiated prices. In other words, Dončić's group would still have to pay its way in.
EuroLeague says it received more than 20 proposals representing over €1.2 billion in potential investment. By early October, 14 bids were competing for eight positions, including BC Roma and Roma Maxima, a separate Rome project. Owners deferred awards while reviewing the offers.
For investors, keeping both applications alive avoids relying on one league's timetable. At the same time, it exposes the uncertainty Dončić described to Sports Illustrated when discussing the competing European competitions.
"There's EuroLeague, EuroCup, and then NBA Europe. It is going to be three leagues. That's kind of hard to work. There should be one league. That's how it works," Dončić said.
Both franchise processes are now moving toward decisions. If BC Roma wins an NBA Europe place while Dončić still plays for the Lakers, the NBA and its players association will need to settle what ownership rights he can keep.