Now that the NBA has joined the NFL in what will almost certainly be a protracted lockout, don’t expect the players to prevail in this labor dispute.
Ask any small market owner of an NBA franchise and they will tell you that unlike the NFL’s big market clubs that wield a lot power among the league’s owners, the NBA’s big market clubs can’t forge a deal with the players that puts the smaller franchises at a disadvantage.
This labor struggle couldn’t have come at a worse time for the NBA and it’s small market teams after the league enjoyed one of its best seasons in recent history, with TV ratings up dramatically thanks in part to the emergence of several small market clubs, like Oklahoma City and Memphis.
Despite the Lakers and Celtics getting bounced out of the playoffs early, the league’s successful postseason generated as much excitement without the NBA’s dominant franchises.
Outside of Miami, the nation watched with glee as Dallas won the title over LeBron James and the Heat. All the happiness generated by the Mavericks win has arguably made the NBA America’s second favorite spot behind the NFL.
Even with all the success, it didn’t translate into financial gains for the small market clubs.
The NBA owners want a 10-year deal that will reduce the player’s share of league revenue from 57 percent to 48 percent, meaning the owners want a dramatic reduction in player salaries.
Last season, the average player salary was $5.8 million. Under the owners proposal, that figure would drop to $4.2 million annually. If the owners are successful in getting what they want, that reduction in the players revenue share would generate additional revenues of roughly $23.3 million per franchise.
Considering the small market clubs have a lot more say in this labor dispute, expect to see the owners get most of what they want.
Primary among those reasons is the fact that most of the NBA’s franchises are losing money while some have sold for below market value.
In addition, almost half of the players in the NBA ask for advances on their paychecks during any given month, providing the owners with a lot of leverage.
The league’s players are at a very distinct disadvantage knowing that a loss of games means a loss in pay, something they simply can’t afford.
Regardless of what the NBA Players Association may try to tell us, they’re negotiating from a weak bargaining position.
Taking that into account, the majority of the NBA’s owners would rather see a loss of games rather than agreeing to a new CBA that guarantees they’re going to lose money.
