NBA owners have made a lot of money off their teams’ success. But brothers Ozzie and Daniel Silna, owners of a now-defunct team, were able to make around $800 million, despite their team not existing. This dates back to the 1970s, when the NBA was merging with their rival league, the ABA (American Basketball Association).

In 1974, the Silna brothers, prominent names in the textile industry, bought the Carolina Cougars, who played in the ABA. They relocated the team to St. Louis, which was then, according to Forbes, the largest U.S. television market without professional basketball. The newly branded St. Louis Spirits also featured Hall of Famer Moses Malone.

But after two seasons, the ABA-NBA merger had come about. The Denver Nuggets, Indiana Pacers, San Antonio Spurs, and the New York Nets (who went on to be New Jersey Nets) were all offered a place in the league by the NBA. The Virginia Squires folded soon, which left the ABA with two teams to take care of; The Kentucky Colonels and the Spirits. They were offered $3 million each to fold. Kentucky took the offer, but the Spirits wanted to negotiate their own deal.

NBA and ABA make a deal with the Silnas

The Silnas and their lawyer Donald Schupak then laid out the terms that they were seeking. The Silnas would be paid for any Spirits players drafted by NBA teams, an amount that came to roughly $2.2 million. On top of that, the Silnas would also get a 1/7 share of each of the four former ABA teams’ NBA “visual media” rights (which amounted to 57% of one full-share). But this is how the Silnas finessed the NBA. The TV revenue that they would receive would be in perpetuity, ie the money would never stop coming in.

Trending

Shaq Warns Lakers Locker Room Of Jeanie Buss Game Plan If Darvin Ham & Co Fail Vs Nuggets

April 24, 2024 09:42 PM EDT

Heat Injury Report: Latest On Jimmy Butler, Terry Rozier, Duncan Robinson Ahead of Game 2 vs Celtics

April 24, 2024 02:46 PM EDT

Joel Embiid Banned By Empire State Building After Dangerous Incident On Court With Mitchell Robinson

April 26, 2024 02:59 AM EDT

“So Rigged”: All Hell Breaks Loose as Jamal Murray Forces LeBron James’ Lakers Into Bitter Embarrassment

April 23, 2024 06:21 AM EDT

“It’s Just Basketball”: LeBron James Rambles About Anxiety After Lakers Fall To Nuggets At Home

April 26, 2024 07:55 AM EDT

Get instantly notified of the hottest NBA stories via Google! Click on Follow Us and Tap the Blue Star.

Follow Us

Initially, they didn’t earn much. But with the rise of Larry Bird, Magic Johnson, and Michael Jordan, the TV deals that the NBA signed became more and more lucrative. By 2014, this amount totaled to around $300 million. Tired of continuously forking out millions every year, the NBA decided to put an end to this.

So in January 2014, the NBA paid a whopping $500 million upfront to the Silnas to end the agreement. Forbes pointed out that this was to avoid giving any piece of the 2016 TV deal, which was expected to be the biggest one in NBA history.

So with that, the Silnas turned a $1 million investment to $800 million with some expert negotiation. They only held control over their team for two years, but ended up reaping the benefits, without even having control over the team for four decades. Because of this, it is regarded as the greatest deal in sports history.

Sources:

The NBA Finally Puts An End To The Greatest Sports Deal Of All Time

Pay Out May Come For An ABA Team That Is Long Gone

Revisiting ‘The Greatest Sports Deal Of All Time