Why a New NBA Team in Las Vegas Could Cost $10 Billion, and Who Gets the Money
Las Vegas does not have an NBA team. It has no players, no coach, no jersey and no name. And according to ESPN, three groups are each prepared to pay $10 billion or more for the right to start one. That is the same valuation as the 2025 deal for the Los Angeles Lakers, ESPN has reported.
The short answer
A Las Vegas NBA team could cost $10 billion because all three finalists are reportedly bidding at least that, ESPN’s Shams Charania said. The money is split among the 30 existing owners, about $333 million each at $10 billion, and players get none of it because expansion fees are not basketball-related income.
Las Vegas expansion: what has been reported
Item | What was reported | Reported by |
Las Vegas bids | All three finalists at $10B or more | Shams Charania, ESPN, on Inside the NBA (Nov 11) |
Arena cost on top | At least $2B more, per multiple sources | Ramona Shelburne, ESPN (Oct 30) |
Decision timing | Las Vegas winner expected by end of December | Charania, via FOX5 Las Vegas |
Target season | 2028-29 | ESPN (Mar 2026) |
Votes needed | 23 of 30 governors | ESPN (Mar 2026) |
Bid range expected in March | $7B to $10B per team | ESPN (Mar 2026) |
None of these figures is official. The NBA has not announced a fee, a winner or a final vote date.
Who wants to own a team in Las Vegas?
FOX5 Las Vegas listed the three finalists Charania named: a group led by Nancy Walton Laurie and her husband Bill Laurie; a group including Vegas Golden Knights owner Bill Foley and Hall of Famer Jerry Colangelo; and a group led by Canadian billionaire Steve Apostolopoulos with former Bucks co-owner Marc Lasry and “Inside the NBA” analyst Kenny Smith. Smith confirmed his involvement but said he could not speak to the accuracy of the dollar amounts.
Why would anyone pay $10 billion for a team that doesn’t exist?
Because NBA teams have become some of the most expensive assets in sport, and the price of existing teams sets the floor for a new one. In March, ESPN said bids were expected in the $7 billion to $10 billion range. Then two things happened. Bids in the Las Vegas race kept climbing, and in August Josh Kushner and Bob Iger agreed to buy the Los Angeles Lakers at a record $12.5 billion valuation. That deal still needs NBA approval, according to ESPN’s Ramona Shelburne.
The other reason is guaranteed income. The NBA’s national media deals with Disney, NBCUniversal and Amazon run for 11 years through 2035-36, according to the NBA, and AP reported they are worth about $76 billion. Every team shares that money, so a new owner is buying a guaranteed slice of it for more than a decade, plus a local market with no NBA competition.
Who actually gets the money?
The fee does not go to the league office or to the players. As CBS Sports explains, a new owner effectively buys a small piece of equity from each existing owner, and the fee is divided evenly among them. Expansion fees are not counted as basketball-related income (BRI), the revenue pool split with players under the collective bargaining agreement, so players get none of it.
Page 21 analysis: the payout and the catch
Scenario | Upfront cash per existing team | Media money per team per year* |
30 teams, no expansion | None | About $230M |
Las Vegas at $7B | About $233M | About $216M (32 teams) |
Las Vegas at $10B | About $333M | About $216M (32 teams) |
Las Vegas at $12.5B | About $417M | About $216M (32 teams) |
*Our illustration: $76 billion over 11 years is about $6.9 billion a year on average, split 30 or 32 ways, assuming Seattle joins too and ignoring how payments actually rise over the deal. The point is the trade-off. At $10 billion each owner would get about $333 million upfront from Las Vegas, but every team would also give up roughly $14 million a year of national media money once the league has 32 teams. A Seattle fee would add a second payout on top. Real distributions depend on terms the NBA has not disclosed.
What does the new owner get for $10 billion?
An empty roster, mainly. Expansion teams are built through an expansion draft of players other teams leave unprotected, plus the regular draft and free agency. Under the rules described by CBS Sports, expansion teams can spend only up to two-thirds of the salary cap in their first season and 80% in their second. On top of the fee, the owner needs an arena: ESPN reported the winner would likely need to spend at least another $2 billion to build one, which puts the all-in cost at $12 billion or more by our arithmetic.
What happens next?
Charania said the NBA expects to pick its Las Vegas group by the end of December and then turn to Seattle. Any final deal needs 23 of 30 governors to approve it, and the league is targeting the 2028-29 season for both new teams, ESPN reported. The NBA last expanded in 2004, when the Charlotte Bobcats paid a $300 million fee, according to CBS Sports. At $10 billion, Las Vegas would cost more than 33 times as much.
NBA Las Vegas expansion FAQs
How much will a Las Vegas NBA team cost?
No official price has been announced. ESPN’s Shams Charania reported on 11 November 2026 that all three Las Vegas finalists are at a franchise valuation of $10 billion or more. ESPN has also reported that the winner would likely need to spend at least another $2 billion on an arena.
Who are the Las Vegas NBA expansion finalists?
As reported by ESPN and local outlets: a group led by Nancy Walton Laurie and Bill Laurie; a group including Golden Knights owner Bill Foley and Jerry Colangelo; and a group led by Steve Apostolopoulos with Marc Lasry and Kenny Smith.
Who gets the NBA expansion fee?
The existing team owners. CBS Sports explains that the fee is divided evenly among the current owners and is not counted as basketball-related income, so players do not share in it. At $10 billion split 30 ways, that would be about $333 million per team, by our calculation.
When would a Las Vegas NBA team start playing?
ESPN reported in March 2026 that the league is targeting the 2028-29 season for expansion teams in Las Vegas and Seattle. Charania said a decision on the Las Vegas group is expected by the end of December.
How many owners need to approve NBA expansion?
23 of the 30 team governors must vote in favour, according to ESPN. All 30 voted in March 2026 to explore bids from Las Vegas and Seattle; a final vote is still needed.
Sources
Related on Page 21
This article is for general information only. Bid amounts, arena costs and the Lakers sale price are as reported by the outlets named; the NBA has not announced an expansion fee or a winning bidder as of 14 November 2026. Page 21 calculations are illustrations, not forecasts.
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