By Aris Barkas/ barkas@eurohoops.net
Panathinaikos publicly expressed the intention to leave the EuroLeague by giving up their license and shares of the EuroLeague joint venture with IMG.
While in the byrules of the EuroLeague, there’s a provision that can be used for giving up the license, it’s not connected with the mechanism which is already in place, if a club wants for any reason to abandon the competition while having a license.
Such a decision is connected to the 10-year contracts signed by the 11 clubs which hold the long-term licenses with the EuroLeague.
If Panathinaikos wants out, then the clause that the Greek club has to pay to cancel the contract remains 10 million euros.
So leaving is not that simple, and even if Panathinaikos goes to court and states that this clause is abusive, the final verdict will not be issued overnight. Things can get even more complicated if the Euroleague also goes to court and asks for damages, as Panathinaikos implies that the club is intending to do.
Depending on the verdict, the final price for Panathinaikos leaving can get even higher than 10 million.
It goes without saying that such a rift is a problem for everyone involved and probably a lose-lose situation for both sides since the revenues of Panathinaikos, which are directly connected to the EuroLeague are estimated close to five million euros.
And while you can debate the fact that those revenues should be higher, the truth remains that no other basketball league in Europe can currently provide such revenues to any club.
Add one more interesting detail: If Panathinaikos insists on leaving the EuroLeague without paying the clause and wants to sell the license and the shares, then the Greek club also needs the approval of the rest of the clubs for a deal to happen. And it’s highly doubtful in such a case that the rest of the clubs would just let Panathinaikos walk and pay less than the signed clause.