NBPA executive director David Kelly said this week NBA players deserve a share of the revenue generated by the league's upcoming European expansion league. Kelly argued the new venture is being built on the reputation established by current and former NBA players.

"It's clearly being built on the backs of current NBA players, and prior NBA players, on the whole cachet that they brought to this league," said Kelly in an interview with Front Office Sports. "And then to start a rival league that they do not participate in, participate in the economics of, we have a very serious problem with that."

Kelly, a lawyer and former Golden State Warriors executive who took over the union role from Andre Iguodala earlier this year, said NBA Europe will generate basketball-related income that should be shared with players, though not necessarily at the 51 percent split players currently receive from NBA revenue. Kelly described the union's goal as securing a "good faith" amount rather than an equivalent share.

NBA Europe is scheduled to launch in fall 2027. Kelly acknowledged the league is not currently required to share Europe-related revenue under the existing collective bargaining agreement but said the union will push for changes in future negotiations. The current CBA runs through June 2030, though either side can opt out in October 2028 to end the deal after the 2028-29 season.

"There's just pleasant conversations at this point in time laying out some of what our issues are," Kelly said. "But when it comes time to actually negotiate the CBA, we are very firm on some of the things that are important and that need to change."