Red Bull is reportedly interested in owning an NBA expansion team

Red Bull, the wing-providing, extreme sports-sponsoring energy drink company, is considering bidding for a new NBA expansion team located in Vegas, according to a new report from Bloomberg.

Talks are in their early stages and could potentially fall apart. But buying an NBA team would be on-brand for Red Bull, which already owns two Formula 1 teams and football clubs, including Major League Soccer’s New York Red Bulls and RB Leipzig in the German Bundesliga.

• However, an NBA team would likely be one of the company’s biggest assets, Bloomberg reports. Each of the last three NBA teams sold were valued at $3+ billion.
• There are also other suitors in the mix in addition to Red Bull, including current and former players (such as LeBron James) as well as a consortium of investors led by Samantha Holloway, whose father made billions as the co-founder of TPG.

Big picture: The three most-watched men’s pro sports leagues – the NFL, MLB, and NBA – haven’t added a new team to their ranks since the early 2000s. However, NBA Commissioner Adam Silver has said the league will focus on expansion after it completes a new round of TV rights deals, with Vegas, Seattle, and Mexico City as the top potential contenders for new teams.

Women’s pro sports, on the other hand, are in the midst of a teenager-like growth spurt. At least 20 new pro women’s sports teams will play their inaugural season this year.