EXPANSION IN SPORTS AND WHY 32 IS THE NUMBER

Expansion in professional sports is not a new thing and has been going on for years. Granted, apart from Major League soccer, which continues to expand each season, only the NHL has expanded over the last decade, which is a telling sign.

When you look at how much money comes with an expansion franchise, you are looking at between 500 million and 2 billion dollars. That money is evenly distributed through the rest of the league, so you have to wonder why expansion appears to have taken a sudden halt.

While the MLS isn’t there yet, the rest of the major professional sports leagues are sitting at 30 and 32 teams. 32 is the number to pay attention to, as that is where the NFL and NHL sit. Ironically, they are the most recent leagues to expand, and that appears to be the number that works in terms of teams. 

It allows you to create four 4-team divisions in each conference and the scheduling side of things becomes that much easier. We have already heard talks of the MLB expanding soon while Adam Silver and the NBA appear content to stay at 30. However, when you look at the money involved, it makes sense to expand, and 32 is the number everyone wants to get to.

NBA: The NBA has gone through its fair share of expansion, with the most recent ones coming in the last 20 years. In the late 1990s, you had the Toronto Raptors and Vancouver (Memphis Grizzlies) come into the league, making it a 29-team organization.

Once the Hornets left Charlotte for New Orleans, the NBA vowed to bring expansion back, and the Charlotte Bobcats became team No. 30 in 2004. Since then, we have seen Seattle relocate to Oklahoma City, but no expansion has occurred in nearly 20 years.

Silver continues to reiterate that the league has no plans of expanding, but when you look at the money and how much each franchise would earn, it becomes a matter of when not if. Although this may not happen for a long time, several markets make sense should the NBA go to 32.

The most obvious market would be Seattle, as they want their Supersonics back. With a new arena and a lively fan base, this makes a ton of sense and seems like a no-brainer. Finding a second expansion team could be more difficult as there are several options to think of.

With Toronto playing some of their games in Tampa Bay and Louisville last season, would the NBA consider going there? Would Pittsburgh or Baltimore be an option, given how big of a fan base they bring? While those may be great, Kansas City makes the most sense for the second franchise.