The NBA is in talks with the former owners of the ABA’s Spirits of St. Louis to end the contract they agreed to in 1976. The deal is costing the NBA millions each year. No agreement has been reached, but the two sides are discussing a settlement, via ESPN’s Chris Broussard.
NBA reportedly negotiating Spirits of St. Louis settlement
A settlement would end the 1976 agreement that will otherwise cost the NBA money in perpetuity.
Scott Halleran
At the time of the ABA/NBA merger, Ozzie and Daniel Silna agreed to fold their team in exchange for a percentage of the NBA’s future television revenue. The small percentage would be paid in perpetuity, which at the time didn’t mean much. Now it means that the Silnas have received hundreds of millions of dollars and will continue getting a cut of the league’s broadcast revenue until the two parties dissolve the agreement.
Since the contract currently requires the Silnas to do absolutely nothing in order to keep receiving payments from the NBA, the league must be promising a pretty sweet deal.
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