Chapter 2301: Time to Leave

Even if Tan Kaixuan racked his brains, he couldn't figure out why that old man Cohen had been persuaded by Zhao Fusheng.

In fact, not only him, but even the employees of the Warriors, including the owners of other league teams, couldn't understand it either.

Why Zhao Fusheng, after just one meeting with Cohen, could convince him.

Some attributed this to Zhao Fusheng's personal charm.

Tan Kaixuan undoubtedly sneered at this, because no one knew the truth better than him.

It had nothing to do with personal charm at all!

It was purely that guy, who had inadvertently fooled old man Cohen.

On this point alone, Tan Kaixuan had to admit that Zhao Fusheng was indeed quite something.

"That's it? Success?"

Looking at Zhao Fusheng, Tan Kaixuan asked.

He had just received a fax that Cohen had agreed to sell the Golden State Warriors to him and Zhao Fusheng.

Of course, the price was certainly not cheap; Cohen had set it at five hundred million dollars.

"Send someone over to negotiate."

Zhao Fusheng smiled and said to Tan Kaixuan, "I estimate the lowest price won't be below four hundred and fifty million. You handle it."

"No problem."

Tan Kaixuan nodded: "If it really doesn't work, we'll just agree to him directly."

For him, buying this team was purely because he and Zhao Fusheng had nothing better to do, treating it as a toy for leisure and entertainment.

To be fair, the two of them joining forces to buy such a small basketball club really wasn't a big deal.

If it were a business worth over a billion, they might hesitate.

Five hundred million dollars, split evenly, was only two hundred and fifty million each.

To be honest, for Zhao Fusheng as he was now, it was a mere drop in the bucket.

As for Tan Kaixuan?

Although that guy wasn't as wealthy as Zhao Fusheng, he was still much richer than most NBA owners.

Moreover, he had inquired and found that running such a team didn't actually cost much money.

Simply put, the annual operating cost was roughly around one hundred million dollars.

And it might even turn a profit.

"By the way, do you know how to make money?"

Zhao Fusheng, seeing Tan Kaixuan daydreaming, casually asked him.

"I do."

Tan Kaixuan laughed upon hearing this: "I specifically hired someone to investigate. The operating model of this American basketball league is actually quite interesting, you know?"

"Tell me about it."

Zhao Fusheng wanted to test him and asked with a smile.

Tan Kaixuan then explained in detail to Zhao Fusheng.

Speaking of the NBA's operating model, the primary source of profit for a team's operations is definitely ticket revenue, but the level of ticket revenue depends on ticket pricing, geographical location, and consumer demographics—whether a team is in a big city or a small city, whether the city's residents are ordinary people or high-income earners, or whether it's internationally oriented—all are very important factors.

Additionally, because a team has the right to use an arena, all snacks, souvenirs sold during games, including parking fees, etc., are counted as revenue.

Of course, for teams like the Lakers and Clippers sharing an arena, their revenues are calculated separately.

Moreover, each year the NBA league also distributes a certain amount of dividends, which increase year by year.

Furthermore, the sale of broadcast rights and viewership for each game are indispensable parts of the profit model. In today's era, traffic and viewership mean real money.

In fact, many championship-contending teams today face the risk of debt, such as the Spurs, Cavaliers, etc.

There are also teams that tank for several seasons and still make money, like the Knicks and Nets. There's no way around it—in New York, occupying prime real estate, no matter how bad they are, people still come to watch, and their overall consumption and market value remain among the top in the league.

Of course, the Golden State Warriors' situation is somewhat special.

Although located in a metropolis like San Francisco, the problem is that the Warriors have poor performance, and their tanking isn't thorough enough. Plus, owner Cohen isn't very wealthy, and his investment in the team hasn't been substantial. With an arena that barely gets maintenance, what profitable projects could there be?

Naturally, they incurred losses.

Fortunately, the losses weren't too large.

At least they could still manage to sustain.

Zhao Fusheng didn't really care about this, but Tan Kaixuan certainly couldn't accept it.

Although he bought it for entertainment, losing tens of millions of dollars a year wasn't his style.

"Not bad."

Zhao Fusheng listened to Tan Kaixuan's words and smiled, nodding: "If you ask me, you might as well just live in San Francisco. That way, when there are games, you can be there in person."

"Get lost!"

Tan Kaixuan glared at him irritably: "Am I that boring?"

"But you like playing basketball."

Zhao Fusheng didn't agree with his attitude and said to him: "Think about it, the stars you could only watch on TV before are now on your team. Or they play against your team, and you can yell at them. Hmm, doesn't that feel fun?"

"Well..."

Tan Kaixuan rubbed his chin. To be honest, Zhao Fusheng's suggestion did pique his interest a little.

Maybe this was a good way to relax.

"That's settled then."

Zhao Fusheng waved his hand, too lazy to say more: "You handle the rest. I'm going back to China."

Going back to China?

Tan Kaixuan was a bit surprised, having thought Zhao Fusheng would return to Italy.

"Yeah, things back home are mostly taken care of. I'll go check it out."

Zhao Fusheng smiled at Tan Kaixuan: "What, you'll miss me?"

"Get out of here."

Tan Kaixuan glared at him irritably.

In fact, he understood that Zhao Fusheng's return was most likely to handle the integration of the Future Group.

Or rather, starting from this point, Zhao Fusheng would gradually step back from the company's decision-making level and begin transitioning toward investment.

This was something Zhao Fusheng had mentioned to him before.

However, Tan Kaixuan always felt that it was a bit of a pity for Zhao Fusheng to do so.

"What, feeling sorry for me?"

Seeing Tan Kaixuan's expression, Zhao Fusheng knew what was on his mind.

Having known each other for so many years in both lives, it was no exaggeration to say that Zhao Fusheng might understand Tan Kaixuan better than Tan Kaixuan understood himself.

Naturally, he knew that Tan Kaixuan was good in every way, except for one thing that was most worrisome: he often had a habit of hesitating.

Not hesitating in life, but when faced with choices of interests, he would unconsciously be a bit indecisive.

Simply put, he was reluctant to let go of some immediate gains.

This wasn't a bad habit, but for someone who wants to do great things, it wasn't a good habit either.

Thinking of this, Zhao Fusheng felt he should give Tan Kaixuan some advice.

"Old Tan, do you think I'm an idiot?"

Zhao Fusheng looked at Tan Kaixuan and asked slowly.