Daniel and Ozzie Silna, the brothers who have been a thorn in the NBA's side for nearly 40 years, appear to be nearing a settlement with the league. According to a report from Richard Sandomir of the New York Times, a settlement will be announced on Tuesday that will pay the Silnas a whopping $500 million upfront payment, end their perpetual cut of the NBA's television revenue, and settle a lawsuit brought forth by the Silnas regarding "new revenue" like NBA TV and League Pass.
In case you're not familiar with the Silna brothers, here's a brief recap – the two owned the Sprits of St. Louis of the ABA, dissolved the team when the ABA and NBA merged, and got a 4/7 share of one team's television revenue, taking 1/7 of the shares from the Nets, Spurs, Nuggets, and Pacers. They've made over $300 million to date, and that figure would shoot through the roof with the NBA's impending new television deals.
But this massive settlement won't completely take the Silnas out of the game. They're still going to receive an undisclosed part of the NBA's television revenue through a partnership that will be formed with the four former ABA teams – a partnership that comes with the ability for the teams to eventually buy out the brothers.
While it would have made sense for the Silnas to keep their 4/7 share going for the rest of their lives, the buyout also makes sense. Ozzie is 80 and Daniel is 69. Once the brothers die, the gravy train stops. When you combine their ages with the loss of a tremendous amount of their finances in the Bernie Madoff Ponzi scheme, a $500 million lump sum will do a lot more to take care of their families for the rest of their lives.
