According to an official report, the Chinese Basketball Association reached deals with 26 partners in the 2015/16 season. The sponsors include 1 strategic partner, 6 co-operative partners, 4 sponsors and 13 official suppliers.

Though the financial terms have not been disclosed in the report, the Chengdu Economic Daily revealed that the basketball league has earned about RMB 1.6 billion in the last 5 seasons. The revenue comes from the CBA and Infront’s business partnership deal, which will expire in 2017.

The retired Chinese basketball player, Yao Ming, has been trying to acquire the business development rights by negotiating with the state-run sports authority. In order to become more involved in the league’s business, Yao and 17 other team owners formed a separate sports management company in February.

During the first-round talks, Yao and the CBA agreed to set up a joint venture, which aims to accelerate reform of the basketball league. Unfortunately, disagreements soon began stalling the negotiations, because both sides want a majority stake in the new venture.

Proofread by Sean O Diobhilin