Since the Spirits of St. Louis were folded in the NBA-ABA merger in 1976, Ozzie and Daniel Silna have been receiving a portion of the NBA's broadcast revenue.
That agreement has been called one of the best sports business deals of all time. The Silnas, owners of the franchise, agreed to dissolve their franchise for a "small percentage" of NBA broadcasting revenue in perpetuity.
According to ESPN, "they receive 1/7 of the television revenues of the four ABA teams that were absorbed: the Spurs, Nuggets, Nets and Pacers. "
The Silnas reported $19 million in income from the NBA last season. In total, the Silnas have been paid an estimated $300 million in TV royalties, and a judge recently ruled that the brothers were also due a share of future internet revenue.
It's no surprise, then, that the NBA is "engaged in settlement talks" to end the deal. The ESPN report says that "talks are ongoing" but that "no agreement has been reached."
With TV and internet revenue on the rise, it will be interesting to see what the final settlement figure is if a deal can be reached.
