Brooklyn Nets owner Joe Tsai wants team revenue to reach $1 billion in seven seasons, and that might make Kevin Durant a happy camper.
Tsai wants an NBA title, of course, but he also wants the Nets to be profitable. Tsai is hoping new Nets CEO Sam Zussman will be instrumental in hitting his audacious $1 billion target, according to Jabari Young of Forbes.
Meanwhile… as the #Warriors keep winning titles, the #Nets keep talking
Owner Joe Tsai thinks his new CEO can lure $1 billion per year like the #Cowboys
I asked respected sports executives who say that’s unrealistic. Here’s why@Forbes #Sportsbiz #NBA https://t.co/8Rd4byGXq4
— Jabari Young (@JabariJYoung) June 18, 2022
As a co-founder of Chinese e-commerce juggernaut Alibaba Group, Tsai's penchant for setting an ultra-ambitious target isn't surprising, but it will still be very challenging.
The Nets need to change a lot of things. They need to win more games, and they need to win in the NBA Playoffs. Zussman must rework the team's image as a laughingstock and fix a stadium that doesn't yield much profit.
The franchise is not starting from nothing, though. The Nets are currently valued at $3.2 billion, and Tsai did help make Alibaba one of the biggest tech companies in the world.
Forbes estimates that the Nets raked in $212 million this season in revenue right through June 2022. That's impressive, but it's also down from $280 million last year and $304 million in 2020.
If Joe Tsai and Sam Zussman are successful, though, the Nets would be in the same tier as entertainment big boys like Madison Square Garden Sports and even the NFL's Dallas Cowboys, which have roughly $1 billion in annual revenue.
Would that be enough to keep superstar Kevin Durant happy? If it leads to improved player support and more leverage in terms of getting complementary talent around him and Kyrie Irving, then yes.
But if all those dollars do not trickle down to improving team depth and on-court performance, then it might just be all for naught.
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