Las Vegas is on track to pay a record price for an NBA expansion team, with estimates ranging from $7 billion to $10 billion. That would dwarf the $500 million Bill Foley and the Maloofs paid to bring the Golden Knights to the NHL in 2017.

The staggering sum reflects the soaring value of NBA franchises and the league’s new media rights deal worth $76 billion over 11 years. For comparison, the Golden Knights’ $500 million fee was already six times the $80 million paid by Columbus and Minnesota in 2000.

“It’s a combination of the market being set by the going rate for NBA teams for sale and the revenue in place for the league’s mammoth media rights deal,” the article notes.

Since joining the NHL, the Golden Knights have seen their valuation skyrocket. Forbes valued the team at $965 million in 2023, the year they won the Stanley Cup, and at $2.2 billion in 2025. The Seattle Kraken, which entered the NHL in 2021 with a $650 million fee, are now worth $1.85 billion.

The NBA’s expansion fee has also grown dramatically. When the league last expanded in 2004, the Charlotte Bobcats paid $300 million. The Toronto Raptors and Vancouver Grizzlies paid $125 million each in 1995.

Recent sales of NBA teams underscore the market. The Phoenix Suns sold for $4 billion in 2022, the Portland Trail Blazers for $4.25 billion in August, the Boston Celtics for $6.1 billion, and the Los Angeles Lakers for $10 billion.

Las Vegas and Seattle are expected to be the next NBA expansion markets, with both cities already linked through their NHL teams. The NHL has no current plans to expand beyond 32 teams, but cities like Atlanta and Houston have expressed interest, with expansion fees reportedly around $2 billion.