LeBron’s Business Partner Maverick Carter Linked to $5 Billion Bid for New International Basketball League

The landscape of basketball, and sports in general, is forever changing. This carousel of players is being paid what they’re owed before they even become professionals. Start-up leagues like Unrivaled, featuring 30 female basketball players who all have ownership within the league, are leading the way.

LeBron James‘ business partner, Maverick Carter, is advising a group of wealthy individuals who want to raise $5 billion to create an international league where players would be given ownership.

First reported by Bloomberg, this league is attempting to rival the National Basketball Association, looking to take a page out of LIV Golf’s book by attempting to pay players more and create a more appealing opportunity depending on the player.

The league wants to follow a similar schedule as the F1 series, having games in eight different cities around the world and spending two weeks at a time in each one. Maverick Carter is doing this alone; James’ team has said he is not involved in this effort.

Carter does have a solid team that he has put together to help him raise the funds, including Skype co-founder Geoff Prentice and former Facebook executive Grady Burnett—a diverse set of individuals looking to create their piece of history.

The league would consist of six men’s and six women’s teams. The amount they are looking to raise is the only way they could think about competing with the biggest basketball league in the world. It’s an appealing opportunity for certain players, but what will persuade players to join this league? The ownership, the traveling abroad, or the amount they are paid?

A lot of questions are still left to be answered, but the thought brings a lot of interest from multiple fronts. The NBA has tried to continue to expand its reach with the NBA Academy, creating facilities on multiple continents. The expansion of the game is growing, and money can always sway projections one way or another. There are only around 450 positions in the NBA. There are a lot of talented basketball players who can be added to this league and mixed with today’s stars.