The NBA’s Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) expires in June of 2011. Like an extensive medical lump check, it has to be done every few years and has the potential to ruin everything. Because even though the NBA is on a role; basketball has become the second most popular sport on the planet, globalization is opening lucrative new markets and last year saw record breaking levels of revenue, there are significant problems at the ownership and revenue sharing level.
Under the 2005 CBA, players were guaranteed 57 percent of the league’s annual revenues, meaning money coming in before expenses. While far from Draconian, it’s been an albatross for the league as a whole. Bootlicking NBA Commissioner David Stern claims the contract has cost the league $200 million a year since 2005 and a whopping $370 million in 2009-10. The issue’s been compounded by the league’s less than balanced financial situation: Since 2008, 30-40% of NBA teams have been operating in the red, forcing Stern and his cronies to borrow $175 million in 2009 to reshuffle the books. Like every organization in the western world, the NBA has laden itself with too much debt.
Players never want a reduction in their salaries, but with teams unable to cover their expenses because of revenue cuts, it’s going to be pretty tough for them to explain why they shouldn’t. If the league and player’s union don’t reach an agreement by next year, we descend into a lockout and given the severity and significance of the dispute, a possible cancellation of the entire 2011-12 season.
Read more from Larry Coon at ESPN.com
No comments:
Post a Comment