After ending a 12-year drought and becoming the champions of the Lithuanian Basketball League (LKL), Rytas Vilnius have guaranteed themselves at least a half-a-million check.
The biggest bite comes from the Basketball Champions League. According to BasketNews sources, the first place in the LKL is going to bring €400,000 for the club from the organization.
Additionally, around €76,500 are awarded to the champions by the Lithuanian league itself.
Starting this year, the Lithuanian league began issuing bonuses for each of the wins during the regular season with €1500 for each victory. Both Rytas Vilnius and Zalgiris Kaunas won 26 games and earned €39,000 each.
Extra financial injections are included in Rytas Vilnius' contract with FIBA.
After leaving the EuroCup and deciding to continue the club's path in the BCL, Rytas negotiated special clauses in the contract, which ultimately became the main draw towards the league.
According to BasketNews sources, Rytas receives a bonus for participating in the BCL (€70,000) as well as extra pay for getting to the Top 16 stage (€50,000).
The total amount the team received from FIBA this year - €520,000. LKL bonuses will be around €115,500, so the total sum from both organizations equals around €635,000.
Lietkabelis Panevezys received €61,000 for coming in second place in the Lithuanian League and an additional €34,500 for their wins during the regular season.
The EuroLeague has also guaranteed the team a €100,000 financial injection for being part of the EuroLeague tournament infrastructure.
Zalgiris Kaunas, who did not participate in the final for the first time in the league's history and ultimately placed third, received around €85,000 from the league.
