The NBA's expansion process is, at its core, a financial transaction. The league's 30 existing owners are voting to dilute their share of national revenue by adding two new franchises — and they expect to be compensated handsomely for that dilution through the expansion fee.
The mechanism for maximizing that fee is competition. When multiple well-funded groups are bidding for the same franchise, the price goes up. This is why the NBA has been explicit about wanting multiple bidders in each market.
In Las Vegas, the league has gotten exactly what it wanted: five or more publicly declared ownership groups, each with deep pockets and strong NBA connections, competing to pay the highest price for a franchise. The bidding war is real, and the price will reflect it.
In Seattle, the picture is different.
The Single-Bidder Reality
Samantha Holloway's One Roof Sports and Entertainment is the only publicly declared bidder for Seattle's NBA franchise. Commissioner Silver confirmed on July 15 that multiple groups are quietly competing, but the absence of public competition changes the dynamics of the process.
Without a visible rival, Holloway's group has less pressure to bid at the top of the range. The NBA, in turn, has less leverage to demand a higher price. And the league's existing owners — who are watching the Las Vegas bidding war generate enormous interest — may wonder whether Seattle is leaving money on the table.
Why More Competition Would Help Seattle
Counterintuitively, more competition for Seattle's franchise would actually benefit the city's expansion prospects. A competitive bidding process would demonstrate to the NBA's owners that Seattle's market is as valuable as Las Vegas's — and would give the league the price discovery it needs to justify awarding both franchises simultaneously.
The Puget Sound Business Journal reported on July 16 that Silver said one group has "a significant advantage" in Seattle — a clear reference to Holloway's arena ownership. But advantage is not the same as certainty. The NBA needs a process, and a process requires competition.
The Window Is Narrowing
The September Board of Governors meeting is the next major milestone. If competing Seattle groups are going to go public, the time to do so is now — before the league's attention turns entirely to resolving the Las Vegas bidding war and before the year-end decision deadline arrives.
For Seattle fans, the message is simple: the more competition there is for the franchise, the more seriously the NBA will take Seattle's market, and the more likely the league is to award both franchises simultaneously rather than staggering or delaying Seattle's bid.