When the upstart and struggling American Basketball Association merged with the NBA in 1976, only 4 of the 7 teams in the ABA were invited to join the expanded NBA. One of the teams that were left out, the Spirits of St. Louis, negotiated a "small" concession to go away - 1/7 of the TV revenue of the 4 former ABA teams that did join the NBA (the Nets, the Spurs, the Pacers, and the Nuggets). Back in 1976, NBA TV revenue was modest, but it has increased tremendously since. Daniel and Ozzie Silna, the former owners of the Spirits, have already received $255 million thus far, and they (or their heirs) can count on more future fortunes for doing nothing
in perpetuity! Now the Silnas want even more, and are suing to grab their share of not just NBA network TV revenue, but also international and premium cable broadcasts.
The NY Times has a
nice report on this deal of the century.