Summary article published and translated by the firm Winter – Dávila & Associés
Original article: bebasket.fr
Paris, July 1, 2025
The growing exodus of young French basketball players to American universities is becoming a real headache for professional clubs in France. This trend is based on a legal vacuum that threatens the contractual balance and the economic model of training centers. At the heart of the issue is the absence of an international framework to regulate the departure of contracted players to an entity like the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA – the organization that governs college sports in the United States), which is not affiliated with the International Basketball Federation (FIBA).
Contract termination: an exception, not the rule
Under French law, a fixed-term contract (CDD), such as those binding young basketball players to their clubs, must be fulfilled to its end. The law of November 27, 2015 strictly limits early termination to specific cases: a permanent contract offer (CDI), serious misconduct, force majeure, or professional unfitness. However, there is one exception: mutual termination, provided for in Article 15.1 of the Professional Basketball Collective Agreement.
This provision explains the majority of recent departures to the NCAA, such as the case of Mathis Courbon, who left Roanne for Murray State despite having signed his first professional contract in 2024. The termination was formalized through a cancellation amendment, duly registered with the National Basketball League (LNB).
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No compensation for the clubs?
The NCAA is not governed by FIBA or any other international sports federation. As a result, it is not subject to the regulations that protect European clubs during transfers to leagues such as the NBA. Therefore, unless a specific contractual clause exists, there is no mechanism that allows French clubs to receive compensation when a player leaves for the United States.
A player cannot unilaterally terminate their contract on the grounds of receiving a better offer, in accordance with the French Sports Code. However, certain release clauses can be negotiated in advance — notably in cases such as the club not qualifying for competition, or in exchange for a compensation fee set out in the contract (Article 15.2.2 of the Collective Agreement).
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Leaving without an agreement: possible but risky
Despite the regulatory grey area, a player under contract cannot head to the NCAA without first ending their commitment. This requires either a mutual termination or waiting until the contract expires. Unlike the NBA, which has set compensation caps for international player transfers ($825,000 in the 2023–2024 season), there is no comparable mechanism governing moves to American universities.
A necessary structural reform
In response to this trend, only an international reform could restore balance. The author calls on FIBA to create a legal framework that recognizes departures to the NCAA as transfers for compensation. This would allow European clubs to receive financial compensation, just as they would in a traditional transfer.
French basketball faces a growing risk: it could become a talent pool serving programs like “Next Stars,” turning local clubs into mere stepping stones in a system fully orchestrated by the NBA. In such a context, a pooled compensation system could permanently deprive training clubs of fair remuneration for the development of their talent.
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If nothing is done, the French model could be stripped of its substance. As with football before the extension of the first professional contract, the economic and sporting survival of training clubs is at stake.
The risk is structural. A comprehensive reform and a binding international framework are needed to prevent European basketball from becoming merely a stepping stone to America.
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