NBA Owners ‘Tired’ of Making Players Rich


According to NBA.com‘s David Aldridge, the last labor meeting between players and owners was “cordial” if unproductive, but there’s growing resentment on both sides. The owners want to radically change the amount of money players make (read: they want to dramatically lower it): “A source who deals with owners on a regular basis said that they remain determined to, if not break the union, break its current salary structure. The source said owners frequently speak of ‘being tired of making these guys rich’ and are even contemplating asking for more, such as including income the players receive from their commercial endorsements and sponsorship money into the [Basketball Related Income] pot — the theory being the players wouldn’t become famous and able to make such deals if not for the NBA infrastructure that puts them on television and other media. (Good luck with that one. And, yes, I asked my source if that were the case, why not cut players in for a slice of the action when owners sell their teams? I got something about there being a difference between the risks the players assume on the court and the risks owners take in financing their teams, got a headache in my eye and stopped listening.)”