Was this ever in doubt? As soon as the new NBPA president was elected, everything about her said She's the Malcolm X to Billy Hunters MLK(early MLK) and she's out to make sure the players get a better deal than last time...by any means necessary.
Great article. I don't expect a renegotiation will actually result in much more money for players though. At the end of the day, they're labor not equity holders.
Personally, I think when there's THIS much money on the table in an industry that doesn't intrinsically "deserve" it (ie entertainment), any negotiation is going to come down to greed. It's hard to make a truly moral case that either side deserves anything more than they are already getting. Diminishing returns and what not. Although we will see a ton of smear campaigns on both sides. Tough situation.
They are skilled labor, not easily replaceable like your manufacturing types. I hope there is no lockout or games missed but I'm pessimistic. Seems like the players finally have someone fighting for them. They have been getting their butts kicked in every labor negotiation since the '98 lockout. I love basketball as much as the next guy but I respect the right for these guys to negotiate for the best deal. I just hope its not like the last lockout where no real negotiations started until games were being missed.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">This is a statement from the NBPA. Pay particularly close attention to the third paragraph. <a href="http://t.co/e6PM7ginuz">pic.twitter.com/e6PM7ginuz</a></p>— Kevin Draper (@kevinmdraper) <a href="https://twitter.com/kevinmdraper/status/598212992157769728">May 12, 2015</a></blockquote> <script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script><blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Well this is new. <a href="http://t.co/xZgf0KbNzs">pic.twitter.com/xZgf0KbNzs</a></p>— Kevin Draper (@kevinmdraper) <a href="https://twitter.com/kevinmdraper/status/598305952853397504">May 13, 2015</a></blockquote> <script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Lol at NBACommunications. Deadspin published a long, researched article with quotes and sources and stuff. The NBA responds with a twitter denial? Here's the fullest response I could find: [rquoter]Today’s @kevinmdraper Deadspin post is grossly misleading and contains many false assertions. FACT: Roughly 1/3 of teams losing $ this year. New TV money does not kick in until 2016-17 season. As in past, all league and team audited financials will be shared w/ NBPA in collective bargaining. Avg player compensation in ’16-17 projected to be more than $8 million, roughly 50% higher than ’10-11 Notion that BRI rules disadvantage players is fiction. Specifically... BRI definition hardly ‘out-of-date’; was negotiated in 2011 w/ NBPA. Assertion that CBA assumes "owner doesn't own any related businesses" is false. CBA expressly addresses related parties, incl. arenas and broadcasters, to ensure players get fair share of BRI. Equity received in broadcast deals is not a BRI "workaround." 2011 CBA specifically covers receipt of equity. BRI reviewed by NBPA and audited by independent accountants every year.[/rquoter] It's possible Deadspin didn't get everything right. But the NBA has to put in at least as much effort as Deadspin did to have any credibility. This is the sort of reaction that the NBA seems to inevitably (and unfortunately) have for any bad publicity -- simple denial. Witness reactions to the Donaghy scandal or the academic study of unconscious racism among NBA referees. No cred. As for the 'morality' of the CBA negotiations, I think Deadspin's article elucidates one valid area. How much of the pie each party gets is up to the bargaining power of that party and whatever they settle on is fair. They're all paid more than they're worth anyway. But the definition of the pie can be just or unjust. It sounds like there's wiggle room for accounting trickery that is unfair to the union. If the players can earn their money in an accounting framework that allows no dishonesty, that would be a more 'moral' outcome than earning the exact same money in a framework in which the league can move money around. On the flipside, there is a danger that a union contract that is too regimented can make legitimate financial innovations harder to execute and hurt the businesses. But, it seems like a worthwhile place for the NBPA to spend their time negotiating.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Adam Silver says a "significant amount of teams" are still losing money in the NBA because their expenses exceed revenue.</p>— Marc J. Spears (@SpearsNBAYahoo) <a href="https://twitter.com/SpearsNBAYahoo/status/621115936947335168">July 15, 2015</a></blockquote> <script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">"You get a max contract. And you get a max contract. And you get a max contract." <a href="https://t.co/cinhmbOCGD">https://t.co/cinhmbOCGD</a></p>— Jorge Castillo (@jorgeccastillo) <a href="https://twitter.com/jorgeccastillo/status/621116605682970625">July 15, 2015</a></blockquote> <script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Silver said players association has not told him it will opt out of CBA next summer. Said again that goal of both sides to avoid lockout.</p>— Jonathan Feigen (@Jonathan_Feigen) <a href="https://twitter.com/Jonathan_Feigen/status/621116081747267584">July 15, 2015</a></blockquote> <script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
I wonder what the main battleground will be? The percentage split of BRI? I doubt the players' willingness to fight, honestly. With the cap going up dramatically, several players are living big. Salaries are starting to flatten out league-wide as everyone and their mother are getting max contracts. Demarre Carroll just got a 4yr/$64M contract. To date he's earned $8M total for his career. Are you telling me he's willing to go through an extended lockout that could cost him about $16M should they lose the whole season? Do any of the players that just got max contracts this summer want a lockout? The cap is rising so dramatically these players won't even realize they're being ripped off, collectively. They're all getting paid more than they ever have before.
This pretty much sums up why I do not feel bad for the players. Role players are making multi million dollar contracts and still want more. Its the fans who are getting screwed and are the ones who should go on strike.
In a lockout between, millionaire NBA players most of whom spent much more than they've invested and billionaire owners, most of whom had decades to accumulate wealth/investments... I'm betting on the players to fold first 9 out of 10 times (barring extraordinary circumstances such as right to Free Agency, Unionize and NO getting more than a 50-50 BRI split doesnt apply...)
No more hunter. I think the players are serious this time. There are way more billionaires then Lebrons.
After what we've seen this summer I have to agree with you. The revenue explosion will make the players less willing to miss paychecks. Until then, we can look forward to confrontational rhetoric from both sides.
I think you’re overselling the divide from the owners and underselling the divide amongst the players. First, there are only 30 owners, and they’re all rich billionaires with a business that basically prints money for all of them. They can achieve relative solidarity very quickly. The players, even without their representation troubles of last CBAs, are very much divided since there more of them, and they want different things. What a superstar want, a 2nd tier star want, a regular role player, and fringe end-of-rotation guys all want are totally different. And their goals contradict each other because one player getting more means another player gets less. Honestly the players have their work cut out for them. And IMO the fact that Durants and LeBrons of the world are yelling out for $$$ doesn’t help their cause. Sure, they deserve huge $300mil type contracts, but how would you feel if your company is paying you less because their budget all went to this co-worker of yours, even a great one?
ppl on both sides (foolishly) assuming the states will be fully insulated from the global deflationary debt crisis
