For all my sports fans out there, the fall season is a special time. The MLB playoffs are in full swing (this year being quite the spectacle), the NFL starts up again with its loyal fanbase which keeps holy the Sabath and of course there is College Football. However, fall is also the time in which NBA training camps begin and we so passionately dissect our respective favorite team. This year, however, the NBA will not start at its normal time and may not start at all. as a result of probably the most disheartening word in professional sports, Lockout.
On June 30th NBA owners and the players association met to discuss the expiring collective bargaining agreement. The current bargaining agreement had expired and the deadline for a new deal was mere hours away. A new deal was not reached and the lockout was made official. All indications were that the two sides would meet numerous times over the summer to work on a new deal. As the summer came to a close, a new deal was not reached and the two sides were "lightyears" apart. As of Monday, commissioner David Stern cancelled all pre-season games and the first 2 weeks of the regular season. So now that this has accumulated to a cancellation of games and ultimately a shortened season, we have no choice but to ask, whose to blame? Is it the owners fault for wanting to decrease salary expense and increase revenue or is it the players fault for being stagnant on their already inflated salaries revenue sharing percentage.
Owners want an understandable 50/50 revenue sharing plan while player unions are not willing to go less then 53%. The NBA generated an estimated $3.8 billion last year in revenue. 57% of that goes to players. The total salaries of NBA players combined for the 2010-2011 was $2.17 billion, which comes out to about $4.5 million per player.(485 players in the NBA) At the end of the day owners walk away with $1.63 billion in revenue which does not include operating expenses and luxury tax. NBA owners are not bringing in anywhere near the amount of money they should be making because after all owning a sports team is owning your own business and the purpose of business is to make a profit. So now with these two sides so far apart, us the fans, are left to suffer and ultimately sit and wait until a new deal can be reached. For the meantime, Lets go Globetrotters?
Daniel Soares
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