Best sports deal ever? How the Silnas outsmarted the NBA

Schupak countered with a masterstroke: He inserted an intentionally broad definition of broadcast revenues, a clause that could one day make the contract

Jon Wertheim | Apr 9, 2014

Best sports deal ever? How the Silnas outsmarted the NBA /

Don Schupak (center) helped Daniel Silna (far right) and his brother Ozzie (not pictured) strike the deal. — Don Schupak (center) helped Daniel Silna (far right) and his brother Ozzie (not pictured) strike the deal / Courtesy of Arthur Hundhausen

Schupak countered with a masterstroke: He inserted an intentionally broad definition of broadcast revenues, a clause that could one day make the contract applicable to distribution channels unimaginable in 1976. "I was blunt during these discussions," Schupak wrote in a 2012 legal declaration. "Rather than narrow the definition of TV revenues, I insisted instead that we add a new sentence [to] emphasize that this was a broad definition that could not be evaded or made obsolete."

The Silnas signed a deal in '76 that entitled them to a cut of the NBA's broadcast revenues in perpetuity. — The Silnas signed a deal in '76 that entitled them to a cut of the NBA's broadcast revenues in perpetuity :: Damian Dovargane/AP

Time travel was beyond the Silnas. But give them credit for glimpsing the future, envisioning the virtually limitless revenue that would come from sports media.

Published Apr 9, 2014

JON WERTHEIM

Jon Wertheim is a senior writer for Sports Illustrated and has been part of the full-time SI writing staff since 1997, largely focusing on the tennis beat , sports business and social issues, and enterprise journalism. In addition to his work at SI, he is a correspondent for "60 Minutes" and a commentator for The Tennis Channel. He has authored 11 books and has been honored with two Emmys, numerous writing and investigative journalism awards, and the Eugene Scott Award from the International Tennis Hall of Fame. Wertheim is a longtime member of the New York Bar Association (retired), the International Tennis Writers Association and the Writers Guild of America. He has a bachelor's in history from Yale University and received a law degree from the University of Pennsylvania. He resides in New York City with his wife, who is a divorce mediator and adjunct law professor. They have two children.