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12 Willamette Sports L.J. 1 (2014-2015)

handle is hein.journals/wlmsplj12 and id is 1 raw text is: 1 WILLAMETTE SPORTS LAW JOURNAL FALL 2014 SPIRITED AWAY: THE SILNA BROTHERS' INFAMOUS DEAL AND THE EXPLOSION OF NBA MEDIA RIGHTS MICHAEL A. WRAPP* INTRODUCTION The truth of the matter is, it's about the biggest hold-up I've ever seen in business. It was highly unethical.' That is how John Y. Brown, Jr. (Brown), the former owner of the Kentucky Colonels of the American Basketball Association (ABA), described the deal consummated between the owners of the other ABA team denied entry into the National Basketball Association (NBA) at the time of the 1976 NBA-ABA merger, the Spirits of St. Louis, and the owners of the four ABA teams entering the NBA, the New York Nets, the Indiana Pacers, the Denver Nuggets, and the San Antonio Spurs.2 Essentially, in addition to receiving payment for any Spirits player drafted by NBA teams in the aftermath of the merger, which amounted to roughly $2.2 million, the Spirits' owners, brothers Daniel (Dan) and Ozzie Silna and their lawyer, Donald Schupak, were guaranteed a one-seventh share of each of the four former ABA teams' NBA visual media rights revenue in perpetuity under the terms of the deal.3 While their perpetual share of NBA media rights revenue may have seemed relatively *J.D./MBA, University of Notre Dame, 2014. I would like to thank Associate Dean and Professor Ed Edmonds of Notre Dame Law School for his guidance and encouragement throughout the writing process. I Darren Rovell, Can the Best Business Deal of All Time Get Even Better?, ESPN, Sept. 7, 2012, http://espn.go.com/blog/playbook/dollars/post/_/id/1525/can-the-best-deal-of-all-time-get-even-better. 2 Id. At the time he owned the Colonels, Brown was also the president and majority owner of Kentucky Fried Chicken. He went on to become the governor of Kentucky from 1979 to 1983. Monte Burke, The NBA Finally Puts an End to the Greatest Sports Deal of All Time, FORBES, Jan. 7, 2014, http://www.forbes.consites/monteburke/2014/01/07/the-nba-finally-puts-an-end-to-the-greatest-sports-deal-of-all- time/; John Y. Brown Jr., NAT'L GOVERNORS Ass'N, http://www.nga.org/cms/home/governors/past-governors- bios/page-kentucky/col2-content/main-content-list/john-y-brown-jr.html (last visited May 1, 2014). 3 Burke, supra note 2. When combined, the four one-seventh shares amount to approximately fifty-seven percent of one team's full share. Id. NBA MEDIA RIGHTS

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