The NBA was triumphant in the 161 day lockout against the players reducing the total share that players received from basketball-related income (BRI) from 57 percent to 51 percent - approximately a $300 million loss per year for the players. The owners convinced the public that they were losing money and that a new and "fairer" CBA had to be forged. But now that the league has officially struck its historic television contract, LeBron James made it clear that the players will have some of the share that they lost in the last CBA according to Dave McMenamin of ESPN.
"The whole thing that went on with the last negotiation process was the owners was telling us that they were losing money. There's no way they can sit in front of us and tell us that right now after we continue to see teams selling for billions of dollars, being purchased for $200 million, [selling] for 550 [million], 750 [million], $2 billion," James said. "And now [Mikhail] Prokhorov is possibly selling his majority stake in the Nets for over a billion. So, that will not fly with us this time."
The historic television contract that James is referring to is the record nine-year, $24 billion television deal that was finalized on Monday between the NBA and its TV partners ESPN and Turner Sports. This gives the league as much as $900 million in TV revenue alone.
And aside from the new mega TV deal, James also pointed out the recent team sales including the Milwaukee Bucks for $550 million and the Los Angeles Clippers for $2 billion. Even Mikhail Prokhorov could cash in on more than $1 billion if he sheds out majority of his shares in the Brooklyn Nets per Akron Beacon Journal.
But James Jones, the Cavaliers team representative and the treasurer for the players union, would not publicly express that the union will certainly opt out of the current CBA in 2017 but early signs are indeed indicating to another labor negotiations. Even Nets point guard Deron Williams is expecting a lockout in 2017 and the reason is very obvious- there is a lot of money involved and everyone in the league wants a piece of it.
So the future for the NBA is set: if the league and the players union will not be able to agree on a more player-friendly deal before either side can opt out, then we will see another 2011 lockout all over again. Its a very likely scenario. The players will want more money and will demand a larger slice of the pie.
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