Friday, November 4th, 2011 at 2:15 pm  |  68 responses

Michael Jordan, Other Owners Refusing Anything Less Than 50% of League Revenues?


Things were already going to be inevitably tense at this Saturday’s NBA labor meeting, but now, the tension and bad blood promises to be off the charts. The NY Times reports on Michael Jordan (*cough cough*) and other team owners who will not back down from the 50/50 BRI split, no matter what: “A faction of 50 N.B.A. players is threatening to dissolve the union if it compromises further on player salaries. The league is facing an equivalent threat from a trenchant group of owners, who are vowing to oppose any deal that gives players more than 50 percent of revenue. The owners’ faction includes between 10 and 14 owners and is being led by Charlotte’s Michael Jordan, according to a person who has spoken with the owners. That group wanted the players’ share set no higher than 47 percent, and it was upset when league negotiators proposed a 50-50 split last month. According to the person who spoke with the owners, Jordan’s faction intends to vote against the 50-50 deal, if negotiations get that far. Saturday’s owners meeting was arranged in part to address that concern. A majority of the 29 owners are believed to support a 50-50 deal, but they are reluctant to move further. ‘There’s no one who’s interested in going above 50 percent,’ said the person who has spoken with the owners.”


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  • manu

    jordans a greedy little piece of s

  • http://dodgers.com Joey E.

    sigh

  • Jeff

    I’m sorry but I just don’t see how the players who are the whole reason for revenues should get the same amount as the owners? Just offer the players 51 or 52% and let’s move on. It’s still a huge increase from having 43% before.

  • LA Huey

    Jordan’s competitive streak wants to crush the opposition more than he cares about what actual figures are. I say Gilbert’s his Pippen. Who would be Kukoc or Cartwright in this dispute?

  • Heals

    MJ, Mj, mj. I get why, but that doesn’t mean it still isn’t a weak move. Looks like we need to add a new Jordan to the classic Gatorade commercial; Bobcats owner MJ. He doesn’t have same lift, range or first-step, but don’t be fooled cause he’s more cutthroat than the UNC, Chi and DC versions. I wonder what Chi or DC Jordan would think of Bobcat MJ’s way of doing business…

  • Kent

    Michael Jordan u supposed to be for the players, man. What da hell wrong wit u? U were fighting on the other side (Players) years ago and understand what was going on and u know most of the owners are asking for to much. Owners would rather ruin the game for their own personal gain. I believe even David Stern wanna slap the F outta some of the unreasonable owners.

  • http://www.optimabbc.be Max

    Damn MJ, doesn’t he allready make like more than 1 mil a day?

  • http://slamonline.com nbk

    Huey, probably Sarver & the Maloofs. — Stern is Reinsdorf.

  • Mo

    Funny Tweet by an NBA writer: Michael Jordan to Abe Pollin (Wizards owner) in 1998 negotiations: “If you can’t make a profit, you should sell your team.” MJ to players in 2011: “Bail us out!”

  • http://www.nba.com Gman

    They should get 50% its their teams, players dont advertise themselves with money do they? Im sure they dont fly themselves with their money either.

  • http://www.twitter.com/nflem41 Nicolas Fleming

    In my mind, I just punched Gman.

  • http://cnbc.com JTaylor21

    Aight guys like Bron/Wade/Kobe/Howard/Rose/etc. should go to another league and let’s see how many fans come to watch MJ smoke a stogie in his luxury box. The NBA wouldn’t be sh*t without star players to attract the public’s money.

  • bike

    Tit for tat, tit for tat.
    Players threaten to decertify, owners won’t budge.
    Now it ‘aint nuthin more than a grudge.
    Players want 52, owners say no.
    Players scream “we ‘aint no ho”.
    Season on the brink, nba down the sink.
    Headed for the fridge, pour myself a long drink.

  • http://www.slamonline.com Cheryl

    You know what? F^ck it, I’m going to watch college ball until March and then find some other sport to fall in love with. F^ck ‘em all!

  • Heals

    Mo Money!!!

  • IAMORANGE4EVER

    @Mo, too funny! MJ should sell the Bobcats man.

  • IAMORANGE4EVER

    The hardline “woe is me” small market teams need to be made an offer they can’t refuse by a federal judge.

  • shaolin23

    wow…mj dont make enough money from dwade, melo and cp3..i would be ticked if i were them!! mj makes a ton off of retros..concords drop in dec..stop being a grinch!! i know the ex took you to the cleaners but you were a player once..what the heck! your in charlotte not chicago…get real !!!

  • http://www.gil1906.com Pve_2

    Ha the reference to the 1998 CBA was nice.

  • bike

    Awesome Cheryl!

  • DieselMechanic

    Just like his playing days Mike always tried to shoot for > 50%.

  • Mo

    The problem I have is that MJ was saying the same sh** back in ’98 that the players are saying now. But “NOW” he’s singing a different tune. And I understand why because he’s an owner now. But the rules don’t change for you (MJ)just because you switched to the other side now. Especially when the players have come down from 57% of teh BRI to address the majority of the owners losses.

  • http://slamonline.com nbk

    Jordan has barely owned the team for ONE YEAR. Why is he allowed to spearhead a movement of change? You BOUGHT INTO THIS situation. Plus and I quote “If you can’t make it work economically, you should sell the team.” – Michael Jordan. and fin

  • thecomputerdude

    What’s funny is they wanted MJ to say something but now that he has he is a jerk now…lol. People are funny….smh

  • http://slamonline.com nbk

    no it’s that MJ is a complete hypocrite and obviously only interested in his own benefit, rather then what is fair.

  • http://www.needforsheed.com JP NEWTON

    I think if he had a superstar on his team he would sing a different tune

  • http://cnbc.com JTaylor21

    No more buying Js. Well…I won’t go that far, after the 3s and 11s drop, I might think about it.

  • http://www.slamonline.com Cheryl

    I’m really not surprised. Dude is a competitor, he just plays for the other side now. 50/50 ain’t “winning”.

  • Mo

    Another MJ quote from ’98 lockout: But perhaps the best waffle in Jordan’s stack can be found in a quote published in August 1995 in the Chicago Tribune. MJ and the other decert club members lashed out at David Stern’s bad deal.

    “All [Stern] has to do is evaluate the deal he has proposed to us from a player’s standpoint,” Jordan said. “He wouldn’t recommend that; he wouldn’t accept that deal from a business standpoint so why would he ask the players to do that?”

    And on the subject of fighting for the younger players, the future of the league, MJ?

    “I can see Clyde Drexler, I can see Charles Barkley, I can see David Robinson and I can see all these stars saying, `Great, it’s a good deal,’ ” he said. “Yeah, it’s a good deal for us–for the superstars. But for these young players who are going to move forward and make this league and make the game of basketball as popular as it is today, it’s not a good deal for them. That’s why we’re making this stand.”

    My, how one’s assets dictate one’s interests.

  • matt

    go look up jordan’s salary before chicago pissed him off by trying to get rid of phil and scottie. He was getting paid 4 million in his PRIME, but making a great deal of money off of endorsements. He is about the players, but he’s also a business man.

  • http://deweynortonmba.wordpress.com/ nbk

    He made 35 million dollars his last season. spare me

  • jake

    I support the owners in this. There’s no reason a player should get a bigger share of revenue than the owners.if you are a great player, you’ll get endorsements. Maybe, the players should learn how to budget their money. They wouldn’t have to worry about going broke then. Live within your means!

  • LA Huey

    Maybe, the owners should learn how to manage their teams. They wouldn’t have to worry about operating at a loss then. Operate your business within your means!

  • http://cnbc.com JTaylor21

    You do know that there are more than 300 players in the NBA, right? Those guys have to divide up their slice over 300 ways while the owners have to divvy up their share only 30 ways. People that support the owners are funny because there’s no logic behind their reasoning.

  • @Deknowz

    I say WE-as in WE the people who BUY the tickets, jerseys, sneakers, league pass lock the owners out! The owners are being tyrants and the players are acting like children-but atleast they’re actually trying to NEGOTIATE. I’ve never gone to an NBA game to see an owner play. Most people didn’t know Dan Gilbert’s name until he started crying that LEBRON JAMES left town. MJ just doesn’t want to lose, but this isn’t a game. His ego drives me crazy!

  • EJ

    Players need to go play in another league. It’s not like NBA is great cause it’s the NBA, they just have the best players. Now that they don’t want to pay them, go play in some other league and that league becomes the best. Simple. No need to start a new league like Amare said.
    Would be a good way of telling the owners that you’re not their b*tch.

  • clos1881

    I dont see why anyone should be suprised MJ has always been a selfish asshole. I remember when people were getting robbed and shot for Jordans I never heard mike say anything matter of fact he RAISED the prices lol Mikes all about the bottom line that benefits himself the players are the bread winners I dont even know half the owners in the league.

  • Groves

    i’m keen for some basketball related competition. come on owners! D-fence, D-Fence!

  • jayb

    pretty lame!! i agree with jtaylor21…take away bron, wade, kobe, drose, durant, and a few others…what is the nba…yeah its the d-league!!!! i know mj wants to make some coin but dont he make enough from swoosh..wtf?? give the players 51.5 and lets get the ballin rollin…no pun intended!

  • O

    It makes perfect sense that MJ wants as much of the BRI as possible. I mean seriously, who the hell WANTS to sign with the Bobcats? They’ll sign cause they’ll have monster cap room, but you’re in Charlotte and the name is kinda wack (Bobcats) – sounds like a college team at best. MJ knows he’s going to lose money for the foreseeable future. So he might as well stick it to the players now. Sad to be honest. You’d think he’d show SOME loyalty to the group he once fought for. At least support a 50/50 take. But nope.

  • Blakos

    Tension at Jodan brand meetings now?

  • http://thetroyblog.com Teddy-the-Bear

    Jordan is such a douche he won’t even change the name of the Bobcats–who were named after Bob Johnson. You know what that tells you?
    Even Bob Johnson isn’t as big of a douche as Jordan.

  • Jake

    My logic is in the fact that without the teams to play on, the players have nothing. Does my company give myself and my fellow employees a 60-40 split of our income? I WISH! I’d be a millionaire by now. In essence, the owners are trying to create a more realistic work environment by taking down inflated salaries, and obviously the players aren’t happy with it. If I was being overpaid for the last 10 years and someone came knocking at my door to tell me that they were knocking my wages down I’d be pissed. But, like I said in the first place, the players need the teams. There will always be enough talent to fill spots vacated by whoever doesn’t want to deal with lower wages. Would you as an NBA player rather make 2 million dollars at home with your family or 500,000 dollars overseas in a country where you know no one? Fans might not forget about KG,LBJ,DWade and Kobe but they WILL forget about Stephen Jackson, Jerome James, Travis Outlaw, Hedo Turkoglu, Chris Mihm, Eddy Curry, Austin Croshere and the gaggle of other players who have made WAY too much money. Sure, a lot of the blame needs to be left with the owners for making bad financial decisions but the agents and players need to be blamed to. Idiots that only play hard when it’s time for a new contract and then slack off when the second, third or fourth year of that contract comes. Do you think MJ enjoys having to pay Desagna Diop 8,000,000 bucks to be a fat waste of space on the end of his bench? Does that make any sense to anyone???? NBA contracts should be Based upon performance and non guaranteed. You play bad, you get paid less. You play good you get paid more. Case closed problem solved.

  • http://myspace.com/gametimeweezy Gametimeweezy

    ***please dont bring MJ into this.. the greatest PLAYER ever is not to be trashed like the current “OWNERS” …thats not a fair assesment***

  • Exile

    Don’t agree with all Jake’s logic, but for someone (JT) to state that there is no logic behind supporting the owners is wrong. All these arguements are based on a sense of entitlement within a business construct… Support who you want (I tend to lean towards the owners)but realize that both sides are largely “right” when they make a stand based on their own needs. Emotional one-sided arguments can only hurt this process.

  • Justin

    It is absolutely amazing how many moronic statements are made on this site. So, because Michael Jordan makes a bunch of money with his other endorsements and the Jordan brand he’s not entitled to get as much out of this as he can also? Are you guys serious? It’s BUSINESS! Do you think the other owners around the league only own their team and don’t make money elsewhere? Since a lot of players make millions off of endorsements I guess they should be asking for less too right? And once again JTaylor, I’d say your reasoning has no logic. You say the big names should go play in another league? You realize of course if they did that then they wouldn’t be making nearly the money they do now right? These players wouldn’t be sh*t without the NBA either

  • slamnation

    cosign Jake

  • CP3NOLA

    Charlotte Bobcats<Charlotte Jumpmen
    Just sayingthey need a name change

  • Heals

    Whitlock is just killing it right now. Head over to Foxsports and take pleasure in Jason roasting his airness. One of the wealthiest players ever and possibly the most inept at personnel decisions ever turned Benedict Arnold (sp?). I lived in Chi-town leading up to the first Bulls run, so I don”t wanna say it, but Kobe would never pulls this shht in same position. Looks like I’m rocking LRG instead of Jumpman for a bit…

  • http://thetroyblog.com Teddy-the-Bear

    @ Jake: And why do you feel the players are in the wrong when even you “wish” YOUR company gave a greater share of its profits to workers (and rightly so)? Who told you the idea of workers determining their own fate and actually–gasp!–owning a stake in their companies was unreasonable or unjust or unrealistic?

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