On November 10, the Futures Basketball League (FBL), a new spring-to-summer league for top under-18 boys basketball players, launched with 12 regional teams and 120 players from the high school classes of 2028 through 2031. Its founding partners and team owners include LeBron James and Maverick Carter's LRMR Ventures, Kevin Durant and Rich Kleiman's Boardroom Sports Holdings, Derrick Rose, Paolo Banchero, Gary Vaynerchuk and Ryan Harwood, Ezra Kucharz, and SC Holdings co-founders Jason Stein and Daniel Haimovic. The first season runs April through August 2027.
Sports Business Journal reported that the teams sold so far went for $6 million each and that owners received equity in the league itself. Stein, the league's chairman, told SBJ he had no sponsor or media agreements to report yet.
Every Team Owner Also Holds League Equity
The release describes FBL as "a sports league and media property." By SBJ's account, the league is seeded with "tens of millions of dollars" between direct investment and team sales, and every owner holds league equity alongside a team. SC Holdings, the sports and entertainment investment firm Stein co-founded with Haimovic, is backstopping the project financially. The board so far is Stein, Carter, Kleiman, and Haimovic, with a fifth member to be named.
Stein pointed to pickleball. He sits on the board of Pickleball Inc., the parent of the PPA Tour and Major League Pickleball, and owns an MLP team. He told SBJ that he and LeBron James bought their pickleball team for $1 million and that 6 months later teams were selling for $6 million. "There's an element of not wanting to rush too many team sales too early," he said. FBL says it's in active conversations about the remaining teams and will operate any that are unsold when the season starts.
MADE Hoops Will Run the League's Events
Stein told SBJ the league is meant to fix structural problems in traditional travel basketball, including fragmented competitions and commercial opportunities and too little focus on player development.
MADE Hoops, the grassroots events company founded by Chad Babel and backed by Durant and LRMR Ventures, is FBL's operations partner, and SBJ reported that the league will stage its traveling events on grandstand courts inside convention centers already hosting large youth basketball events.
The calendar is set to stay out of the way of the high school season, NCAA live periods, USA Basketball commitments, and the NBPA Top 100 Camp. The 10 league weekends lead to a national championship weekend. Stein said the commercial focus is July and August, "when TV is open, schedules are open, and it can be the least disruptive and most commercial."
The release says FBL players will be "earning NIL compensation." The league hasn't said how much players will earn. Stein told ESPN that the top 150 under-18 players in the country play on more than 200 teams in 7 leagues each spring and summer, and that "it's not fair they don't get fair value for their NIL."
Development is the other half of the offer. The league is partnering with HMBL Development on player development, and Chris Rivers is vice president of basketball operations. The release lists coaching, mentorship, and life-skills education among what players get.
Media Rights Talks Are Underway
FBL's release says games "will be streamed or distributed on national television," and Stein told SBJ he's confident there will be "real coverage on network and streaming" based on current talks. Connor Schell, founder and CEO of the production company Words + Pictures, is advising the league and leading the media rights talks, along with athlete-focused content.
The release says additional owners, player commitments, team markets, the full schedule, media partners, and sponsors will be announced in the coming weeks.
Takeaways for Investors
A $6 Million Team Is Also a Stake in the League
Each owner holds league equity alongside a team, Sports Business Journal reported.
Stein Points to Pickleball Team Values
Stein ties FBL's approach directly to Major League Pickleball's team values and says the league won't rush the remaining sales.
MADE Hoops Gives the League a Running Start
FBL will run its events through an established grassroots operator, at venues that already draw youth basketball crowds.
No Media Partner Has Been Announced
Stein told SBJ he had no sponsor or media agreements to report yet. The release says media partners and sponsors will be announced in the coming weeks.
