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Michael McCann　译傅婧瑛

蔡崇信收购篮网的背后数字真相。

Joseph Tsai， the vice chairmanand co-founder of Alibaba Group，become the majority owner（governor） of the Brooklyn Netsby September. The transaction wasfirst reported by the New York Post.Tsai， 55， currently owns 49% of theNets. Russian billionaire MikhailProkhorov owns the other 51%.

阿里巴巴副主席，联合创始人蔡崇信在9月成为了布鲁克林篮网队的大股东（董事）。这个交易最早由《纽约邮报》曝出。55岁的蔡崇信此前拥有篮网49%的股份，俄罗斯亿万富翁米克哈尔·普罗霍罗夫拥有另外51%。

Last yea r Tsai， who isreportedly worth $9.2 billion，purchased 49% of the Nets for$1 billion. Tsai's agreement withProkhorov gives him the right topurchase the remaining 51% by theconclusion of the '21-'22 season. Theprice for the 51% of equity is $1.35billion. The prospective transactiontherefore values the Nets at astaggering $2.35 billion， the highestdollar figure in the history of U.S.sports franchise sales.

据称身家达到92亿美元的蔡崇信去年以10亿美元买下了篮网49%的股份。根据蔡崇信与普罗霍罗夫的协议，他有权在2021-22赛季结束时收购剩余51%的股份。51%的股份价值13.5亿美元。而这笔交易让篮网的价值达到了咋舌的23.5亿美元，使之成为美国体育史上最为昂贵的交易。

Buying equity in a franchiseis a very different transaction frombuying equity in a standalonebusiness. While a standalonebusiness can operate as it likes，a franchise is governed by afranchisor. To that end， thefranchisor contractually limits howthe franchise conducts business，interacts with customers and sellsservices and products. Thoselimitations are normally found in aconstitution or bylaws that governeach franchise. Unlike a standalonebusiness that looks out for itself， afranchise must advance the bestinterests of the franchisor and thejoint venture as a whole.

購买球队股份和购买独立企业股份是不同的交易。尽管独立企业的运营方式与球队类似，但球队由特许经营者管理。从这个角度讲，特许经营者通过合同限制球队的商业行为，与客户的互动方式以及出售服务及产品的形式。这些限制通常可以在管理球队的规约或细则中找到。与只顾自己的独立企业不同，球队必须从特许经营者及共同事业的最大利益出发考虑问题。

This is true in the NBA， wherethe league's interests are paramount.Prokhorov can only sell his equityin the Nets if the NBA approves thetransaction. The league constitution，which is an agreement that governsthe relationship between teams andthe league， conditions ownershipupon a favorable vote of at leastthree-quarters of all governors. Asa practical matter， this means thatthe pending transaction must beapproved by at least 23 of the 30majority owners.

NBA也适用这个道理，联盟的利益最为重要。普罗霍罗夫只有经过NBA批准才能出售自己在篮网的股份。联盟规约，也就是规范球队与联盟关系的协议规定只有经过至少3/4球队所有者投票批准，球队所有权才能转移。从实践角度出发，这意味着待定交易必须经过30支球队大股东中至少23人的同意才能通过。

Before a vote is taken， theleague conducts considerable duediligence on a prospective owner.The league attempts to ensurethat a prospective owner's allegedwealth is accurately measured， thathe or she does not have conflictsof interests and that there are nooutstanding legal issues of concern.

投票前，联盟会对潜在所有者进行调查。联盟会试图确定潜在所有者传说的财富得到了准确衡量，他/她不存在利益冲突，也不存在未解决的法律问题。

The NBA's due diligence isextensive. It includes reviews offinancial statements， tax recordsand any legal filings in which theprospective owner is named. Theleague utilizes a finance committee，which consists of a group ofgovernors， to evaluate records andmake a recommendation to all 30governors. The league also retainsa security firm and other relevantservice providers to turn overevery stone. Under Article 4 of theconstitution， the NBA can demandany document from a prospectiveowner. He or she must provide “suchinformation as the commissionerdeems pertinent.”

NBA的尽职调查范围很广，包括审查财务报告，税务记录以及任何与潜在所有者相关的法律记录。联盟利用财务委员会这个委员会由几个球队所有者组成，他们会评估各项记录，并向30支球队老板做出推荐。联盟也会聘用证券公司及其他相关服务机构，以此做到不放过任何问题。根据联盟规约第4条，NBA可以要求潜在所有者提交任何文件。他/她必须提交“任何总裁认为相关的信息”。

The NBA， like other majorpro leagues， has occasionallyencountered governors whosefinancial challenges interfere withtheir ability to own and operate ateam. In 2010， the league purchasedthe New Orleans f ranchise（which at the time was called theHornets） from George Shinn forapproximately $300 million. Thisamount reflected not only the valueof the franchise but the league alsoagreeing to assume the team's debts.

和其他主流职业联盟一样，NBA偶尔也会遇到老板的财务危机影响到他们拥有并运营一支球队的能力。2010年，联盟以大约3亿美元的价格从乔治·辛手中收购了新奥尔良的球队（当时还被称为黄蜂）。这个价格不仅反映了球队的价值，同时也表明联盟愿意承担球队债务。

In addition to finances， theleague will confirm that Tsaibecoming the Nets governorwould not pose any conflicts ofinterest. Article 3 of the constitutioninstructs that no team executive canhave any direct or indirect controlover another franchise. Further， ifTsai is a party to any litigation， hewould need to clarify to the NBAthe status of the litigation and theextent to which it might expose himto liability.

除財务问题外，联盟也会确认蔡崇信成为篮网所有者不存在任何利益冲突。联盟规约第3条表明，任何球队高管不能直接或间接控制其他球队。此外，如果蔡崇信有需要解决的法律问题，他也需要向NBA澄清诉讼状态以及诉讼可能给他带来多少经济责任。

There are a number ofreasons why the league willenthusiastically support Tsaias the Nets new governor.

联盟因为几个原因积极支持蔡崇信成为篮网新老板。

First， the league has alreadyvetted Tsai and he emergedfavorably from that process.The vetting occurred when Tsaisuccessfully sought to buy the 49%stake in the Nets. At this stage，the NBA will merely refresh itsvetting on Tsai. The refresh willbe a less exhaustive inspection intoTsai's background than the originalvetting.

首先，联盟已经对蔡崇信做过审查，他在审查过程中成为最被看好的候选人。当蔡崇信寻求买下篮网49%的股份时，审查就开始了。在这个阶段，NBA只不过更新一下对蔡崇信的审查。和最初的审查相比，这次更新对蔡崇信的背景调查将不会那么详尽繁琐。

Second， Tsai is already partof the NBA family. Not only doeshe own 49% of the Nets， but heowns the WNBA's New YorkLiberty. Tsai is also on the boardof directors of NBA China. He isclearly someone who the league hasembraced.

第二，蔡崇信已经是NBA大家庭的一员了。他不仅拥有篮网49%的股份，还拥有WNBA的纽约自由队。蔡崇信也是NBA中国的董事会成员，显然，他已经得到了联盟的认可。

Third， Tsai's professionalbackground and areas of expertiseappeal to Silver， league officialsand owners. Tsai， who was bornin Taiwan and now resides inCalifornia， is， like Silver， anattorney. He is a Yale Law Schoolalumnus and a member of the NewYork Bar. Tsai practiced corporatetax law at a prestigious law firm，Sullivan & Cromwell， beforeturning to business ventures. Hehas deep ties in the ecommerceand online retail industries， bothof which expect to grow in theyears ahead. Silver， for his part， haseffusively praised Tsai. In October2018 the commissioner said he was“looking forward to working closelywith [Tsai] to continue to build ourbusiness in China， particularly ourmedia and e-commerce business，in which he has tremendousexpertise.”

第三，蔡崇信的职业背景及专业领队对萧华，联盟官员及其他球队老板都很有吸引力。蔡崇信出生于台湾地区，目前定居于加州;和萧华一样，他也是律师。他毕业于耶鲁法学院，是纽约律师工会成员。蔡崇信曾在知名律师事务所沙利文&克伦威尔做过企业税法律师，之后才进入商业界。他与电子商务及线上零售界具有深入联系，这两个行业在未来几年都会继续增长。萧华也对蔡崇信大为赞赏。2018年10月，联盟总裁表示，他“期待与蔡崇信紧密合作，继续打造我们在中国的事业，尤其是我们的媒体及电子商务产业，而他在这方面具有强大的专业能力。”

Fourth， Tsai's wealth ismassive and， most likely， recessionproof.The global financial crisis of2008 was damaging to the financesof many people. If a similar crisiswere to occur in the coming years，the NBA and other leagues wouldhope that their owners can weatherthe storm. No league wants to seeits owners abruptly sell franchisesin order to meet other financialobligations. That type of “rush tosale” activity could deflate the valueof franchises， including those notup for sale. Given Tasi's fortune， heseems well insulated from potentialfinancial downturns.

第四，蔡崇信擁有巨大个人财富，而且很有可能不受经济衰退影响。2008年的全球金融危机让很多人受到了经济损失。如果未来再次出现类似危机，NBA和其他联盟希望球队老板能够承受住风暴。没有联盟希望看到球队老板为了还债而突然卖掉球队。这种“匆忙出售”的行为会贬损球队价值，那些不出售的球队也会受到影响。考虑到蔡崇信的财富，他似乎可以免受未来经济下行的影响。

The valuation of the Nets at$2.35 billion is the latest indicationof how well the NBA is doing.According to Forbes， the averagevalue of an NBA franchiseis $1.9 billion. Since there are 30franchises， the collective value ofNBA franchises is approximately$57 billion.

篮网23.5亿美元的估值，是NBA运行良好的最新例证。根据《福布斯》的消息，NBA球队的平均估值为19亿美元。考虑到联盟有30支球队，NBA球队的总体价值接近570亿美元。

For those with equity in anNBA franchise， the Nets sale is， ofcourse， fantastic news. It suggeststhat their investment has grown invalue since the time of purchase.Not only is possessing equity inan NBA franchise a source ofenjoyment， but it also appears tobe quite profitable. Moreover， theleague continues to identify revenuestreams that capitalize on its brandwithout requiring additional games.It has wisely embraced esports andrecently partnered with Walt DisneyCo. to create the “NBA Experience”at Disney World in Orlando. Itsgrowth in Asia and Africa suggestsonly more revenue streams ahead.

对那些拥有NBA球队股份的人来说，篮网出售当然也是极好的消息。这意味着他们投资购买球队股份后实现了增长。拥有NBA球队股份不仅能带给人快乐，同样也能带来收益。此外，联盟一直在寻找在不增加比赛场次的前提下，利用品牌增加收入的渠道。NBA已经明智地接纳了电子竞技，最近又与沃尔特·迪士尼公司联手，在奥兰多的迪士尼公园开创了“NBA体验”项目。其在亚洲和非洲的增长意味着未来更多的收入。

THE NETS SALE IS ALSO EXCELLENT NEWS FOR NBA PLAYERS. PER THE COLLECTIVE BARGAINING AGREEMENTBETWEEN THE NBA AND THE NATIONAL BASKETBALL PLAYERS' ASSOCIATION， FRANCHISES AND PLAYERS ALMOSTEVENLY DIVIDE “BASKETBALL-RELATED INCOME” OR BRI.

篮网的出售对NBA球员也是绝好的消息。根据NBA与球员工会之间的劳资协议，球队和球员几乎平分“篮球相关收入”，或者说BRI。

The Nets sale is also excellentnews for NBA players （and forother employees of franchises，arenas and businesses connectedto the NBA）. While players donot receive proceeds from a sale，they gain financially gain whenthe league does well financially.Per the collective bargainingagreement between the NBA andthe National Basketball Players'Association， franchises and playersalmost evenly divide “basketballrelatedincome” or BRI. BRI refersto revenue generated by NBAbroadcasts， intellectual property（including video games）， apparel，arena signage and other physicaland digital properties. Dependingon various factors， each sidereceives between 49% and 51% ofBRI.

籃网的出售对NBA球员（以及球队，球馆员工和与NBA存在商业联系的人）也是绝好的消息。尽管球员不会从篮网的出售中获得直接收入，但联盟发展良好，他们在经济上自然有收获。根据NBA与球员工会之间的劳资协议，球队和球员几乎平分“篮球相关收入”，或者说BRI。BRI指的是通过转播，知识产权（包括电子游戏），服装，球馆内广告牌及其他实体及电子财产获得的收入。取决于不同因素，劳资双方对BRI的分成在49%到51%之间浮动。

The salary cap and， byextension， players' salariescorrelate to BRI. While this is asimplification， a higher BRI meansa higher salary cap， which in turnmeans higher player salaries.According to Statista， the averageNBA player salary during the'18-'19 season was $7.8 million，which far outpaced average playersalaries in MLB （$4.5 million），NFL （$2.9 million） and the NHL（$2.8 million）. Expect NBA salaryfigures to only climb， as the league'ssalary cap will jump by morethan 7% in the '19-'20 season. It isexpected that the average playersalary in the NBA will approach $10million by the early 2020s. NBAplayer contracts， unlike those in theNFL， are also generally guaranteed.

而工资帽及由此延伸的球员工资也与BRI相关。尽管这是种简化的说法，但更高的BRI意味着更高的工资帽，进而意味着更高的球员工资。根据Statista的数据，2018-19赛季NBA球员的平均收入为780万美元，远高于MLB（450万美元），NFL（290万美元）和NHL（280万美元）。外界预期NBA球员的收入只会继续提高，联盟2019-20赛季的工资帽将会上调超过7%。预计在21世纪20年代初，NBA球员的平均收入将接近1000万美元。和NFL不同，NBA球员签订的基本都是有保障合同。