Representatives of the Players Union on Thursday completed the vote in favor of the plan presented by NBA Commissioner Adam Silver to begin the 2020-21 regular season on December 22, and with a schedule reduced to 72 games.
Now the only thing missing is for the NBA Board of Governors to also approve it and start working with the calendar of activities prior to the start of the competition, such as allowing transfers before the next 18 of this month the university draw is held.
The representatives of the players union during the deliberations and voting were in a conference call with the executive director of the organization, Michele Roberts, who always works closely with Silver.
The NBA and the union plan to discuss the opening of free agency as quickly as possible after the college draw to accommodate player movement with such a short window and immediately, as of December 1, have the fields open. of training.
The league and the players are still negotiating the financial terms of an amended collective bargaining agreement and those talks are expected to run into next week, according to multiple sources close to the league.
When a formal agreement is reached, the league will lift a moratorium and reopen the league for trading business before the college draw.
The league believes that a December 22 start, which includes traditional Christmas Day games on television, also gives them scope for a 72-game schedule to be completed before the Summer Olympics arrive in mid-September. July.
Compliance with the 72-game schedule without having to compete with the Tokyo 2021 Games will allow the NBA to raise between 500 (423 million euros) and 1,000 (846 million euros) million dollars more for television rights short and long term.
Again, the players who had refused to start the competition, at least until mid-January, after the lockdown they had in the Orlando bubble, gave up completely when Silver put the dilemma of millions on the table for them. dollars they could lose in wages if they didn’t accept their plan.
The NBA and the union have discussed significant increases in withholding as collateral for player wages to account for the serious losses in league revenue during the coronavirus pandemic.
The parties are working to spread player losses over multiple seasons, so players don’t suffer such a substantial financial impact in a single year.
The NBA has pushed back a deadline until Friday that keeps open the option to terminate the collective bargaining agreement, which would essentially blow up the league’s financial structure that allows for a 50-50 split of basketball-related income (BRI). according to the provisions of the CBA.
Because the pandemic triggered a force majeure clause in the collective bargaining agreement, both parties have the option of giving 45 days advance notice when terminating the agreement, something that is expected to no longer happen with tonight’s vote.
The NBA and the union split the BRI, and the league recently told teams that 40% of that revenue could be lost without the revenue generated from ticket sales to fans, which as of yet is not allowed to return to. fields.
The NBA’s basketball-related revenue fell by $ 1.5 billion (€ 1.269 million) last season, according to data provided to teams.
But the NBA has also reported that if during the 2020-21 season you have to compete without fans on the fields, the losses could amount to 4,000 million dollars (3,385 million euros).
