Record attendance and owners are struggling to break even? $400 million dollars in revenue loss last season in the NBA alone ponders questions as to where the money is being lost. Owners claim its the escalating expenses of player’s salaries that are crippling financial growth.
The NBA and NFL collective bargaining agreements expire in 2011, and its evident that the meetings between owners and the player’s unions are not a good sign. The bigger question begs whether or not there will be a lockout next season in the NBA.
My answer: most likely. Just like the NFL, it might only be partial or could be for the whole season. All I know is that by the looks of it, the NBA is about as close to a new collective bargaining agreement as Palestine is to signing a peace treaty with Israel.
NBA Commissioner David Stern wants a reduction of $750 million-$800 million in annual player salaries, or around a 25 percent decrease.
That’s like telling a security guard making twenty dollars an hour that they want to pay him fifteen dollars an hour instead. Let’s do the math on a realistic scale, considering some NBA players make seven figures in one week.
Five dollars an hour in reduction of pay for forty hours a week equals 200 dollars a week in reduced pay, or 800 dollars in a given month. Account a year’s reduction in wages, and thats a 9,600 dollar cut in someone’s annual earnings. That could be enough for a brand new Kia. Granted its a Kia, but the precedent has been set. 25 percent is a huge cut in pay.
As much as I agree that players get payed an absoutely absurd amount of money, I can understand how this would not fare well with them. If the owners are so concerned about money, how would they be able to sign Drew Gooden to a multi-year worth a little over five million a year? Or sign Amare Stoudamire to a 5-year, $99.7 million dollar deal?
Bryant signed a contract extension worth $30 million a season, and Carmelo Anthony was offered a three-year, $65 million dollar deal this past off-season.
Along with the players, I want to see where the losses are coming from. If anything, the owners need to take baby steps, and gradually decrease player’s salaries over the course of years.
When someone asks for an appetizer, the waiter/waitress doesn’t give them a three-course meal. When someone asks for a snack, you don’t take out every food item from the cabinet.
All Stern and the team owners come off as is people tired of paying increasing players’ salaries. They look as selfish, if not more selfish, than the players.
Games are selling out, NBA merchandise sales are through the roof and TV ratings are certainly not down.
The role of the owner is to manage the financial affairs of the team, which entails getting networks to air the games and getting advertisers to buy ad spots during commercials.
If you don’t expect a baby to start crawling within its first few days of life, don’t expect players to accept something that benefits the owners.
Granted the 60-40 cut is in the player’s favor, but its their talent that markets the fan base and clientele. But at the same time, owners make it happen for them. Without them, the players would not be where they are.
It’s a two-way street that is congested with many repairs that need to be made. The question is whether or not construction will resume, or if it will be delayed.
Life is about compromises and the player’s union and owners alike need to find a happy medium. Otherwise, they will both lose and there will be no NBA or NFL season.
Talk about decimating one’s profits–no streaming revenue, no fan base to follow the teams, no network deals, nothing. All you have is an empty arena.
Sooner or later, someone will have to give in. This isn’t the grocery business. There are no basketball “scabs.” Fans want the best, and expect the best.
Southern rapper T.I. once said, “Life’s a Catch-22, either you lose or you lose.” Simply coincidental the saying is a football reference.
So what’s it going to be? This is real life. No Hollywood ending. Expect a lockout.