Two brothers made $800M as basketball team owners, without ever actually owning an NBA team.

Time for a thread

1) Ozzie and Daniel Silna, with cash from a successful textile business, bought the ABA’s failing Carolina Cougars for $1 million in 1974.

They immediately moved the team to Saint Louis and rebranded as the Saint Louis Spirits.

2) Tired from the constant battle for players and fans, the NBA agreed to a merger with the ABA in 1976.

Four of the seven ABA teams were picked to make the move to the NBA: New York Nets, Denver Nuggets, Indiana Pacers, and San Antonio Spurs.

3) One team, the Virginia Squires, went bankrupt before the merger and the other two, the Kentucky Colonels and Saint Louis Spirits, were offered buyouts to disband.

The Colonels ownership accepted $3 million, but the Silna brothers held out for more.

4) Eventually, the Silna brothers negotiated a deal that included $2 million in cash upfront, plus yearly TV broadcast revenue equal to 1/7 of the amount received by those 4 ABA teams.

The best part?

The contract goes in perpetuity.

5)The Silna brothers were collecting $300k annual checks to start.

As the NBA grew in popularity, so did the checks, with the Silna brothers collecting around $20 million per year by 2014.

All in, they collected a total of $300 million from 1976 to 2014.

6) Why did the Silna brothers stop receiving payments after 2014?

With broadcasting contracts set to be renegotiated, the NBA decided to settle with the Silna brothers.

The two brothers walked away with a $500 million buyout, bringing their overall take to $800 million.

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