The NBA's relationship with FanDuel Sports Network may be approaching a breaking point.
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According to Tom Friend of Sports Business Journal, Main Street Sports Group, the company that operates FanDuel Sports Network, failed to make its January rights-fee payments to several NBA teams. The missed payments have raised new concerns about the long-term stability of the model.
Main Street, which is in the process of being sold to DAZN, also recently missed a payment to the St. Louis Cardinals. In response, the NBA league office alerted all 13 teams partnered with the company that January payments could be delayed. Friend reports that multiple teams did not receive their scheduled checks this week.
For now, games will continue to air. Sources say default notices have already been sent, triggering a 15-day cure period once they are formally received.
"Main Street Sports Group is in dialogue with its team and league partners around the timing of rights payments," a company spokesperson said, pointing to ongoing discussions with strategic partners aimed at improving the company's capital position.
Team sources told Friend that contractual protections would make clubs primary payees if Main Street were to collapse. Still, the financial picture is troubling. Main Street reportedly lost about $200 million in 2025 and owes teams a combined $180 million for the current season.
If a sale to DAZN is not finalized this month, Main Street officials have indicated the company could wind down operations following the NBA and NHL seasons. Some teams, however, privately question whether the company can even afford to keep producing games that long.
If Main Street dissolves, digital rights would revert back to the teams, potentially accelerating a shift toward a national or team-controlled streaming model for local broadcasts. If DAZN completes the purchase, the broadcasts would largely remain intact in the short term, though a wave of expiring contracts looms.
Per Friend, these NBA teams remain under contract with Main Street for the 2025-26 season, along with their reported annual rights fees:
- Atlanta Hawks $32 million
- Charlotte Hornets $16.57 million
- Cleveland Cavaliers $34 million
- Detroit Pistons $25.78 million
- Indiana Pacers $17.47 million
- Los Angeles Clippers $34.59 million
- Memphis Grizzlies $11.41 million
- Miami Heat $55 million
- Milwaukee Bucks $24 million
- Minnesota Timberwolves $24.88 million
- Oklahoma City Thunder $16.67 million
- Orlando Magic $26.19 million
- San Antonio Spurs $19.92 million
What happens next could reshape how fans watch local NBA games. Whether through a rescue sale or a collapse that forces innovation, the RSN model appears to be nearing another inflection point.
