Not only the glory: the 1.7 million euros that are at stake in the Euroleague Final Four

JM González

May 25, 2024

The European basketball festival has its eyes set on Berlin, where these days the four best teams in Europe are competing in the Final Four of the 2023-2024 Euroleague. The semifinals have already been played, with Panathinaikos from Greece leaving out the Turkish Fenerbahce and with Real Madrid getting Olympiacos, also Greek, out of the way to continue on the path to a possible two-time championship.

But the glory and the top title in European basketball is not the only thing that is in dispute in the capital of Germany, but also the millionaire loot to be distributed to whoever wins the trophy. The champion will keep a purse of 1,739,081 euros, which is added to everything raised during the course of the tournament based on their marketing position and profits generated on television.

And of course, the winner is not the only one who will take money for their funds. According to information published by the Relevo website, the runner-up will receive just over 985 thousand euros, the third will win 870.5 thousand euros and the fourth place will take 753.6 thousand euros for having reached the instance of the four best teams in the continent.

The Euroleague is generally generous with its awards. In fact, only four teams of the 18 participants do not receive money, that is, those located between 18th and 15th place. From then on, from 14th to 1st, everyone receives a proportional prize pool that ranges from 173.9 thousand euros for the fourteenth and 695.6 thousand euros for whoever finishes in fifth place in the final standings.

EUROPE MOBILIZES

Fans have traveled from Greece, Spain and Turkey to attend the big event at the Uber Arena in Berlin, which these days has received fans who come to witness the definition of the 24th edition of the most important club tournament in Europe.

According to figures from the same competition, Real Madrid fans will be the fewest to travel to the German capital, with an estimated average of 500 spectators. A low figure if one considers the magnitude of the Spanish club and that there is a latent possibility that they could be crowned two-time champions and achieve their 12th crown. Needless to say, the Madridistas are the winningest club in the history of the tournament.

The estimate for the Fenerbahce fans was 3,000 fans who would travel from Türkiye to Berlin.

For its part, the largest delegation would arrive from Greece, logically based on the fact that two of the four participating clubs come from those lands. From Olympiacos, 4,500 fans would have arrived to accompany the finalist of the previous season, while from Panathinaikos, a mass of 3,000 fans were contemplated to accompany their team, which returned to the Final Four after 12 years of absence.

The truth is that the party is already happening in Berlin and not only on the pitch, but in the streets and in an Uber Arena that was already a cauldron in the semifinals of the tournament.