Go Woke, Go Broke? NBA Reportedly Facing Billions in Losses, Steep Decline in Player Salaries
Western Journal ^ | 10-31-20 | Bryan Chai
Posted on 11/1/2020, 7:59:04 PM
The NBA, however, fears that starting the season even in January could cost the league anywhere from $500 million to $1 billion in lost revenue, according to ESPN.
Now, a multibillion dollar entity like the NBA might normally be able to weather losses even that substantive, if only for a year.
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Things get a little hairier, however, when factoring in the great unknown of when fans will be allowed back en masse. Without that vital gate revenue, ESPN noted that projections have the NBA losing another $4 billion.
That’s a potential loss of up to $5 billion in revenue if the season starts in January and fans are not allowed to attend. That massive figure, even for a multibillion dollar entity, would be a very painful and bitter pill to swallow.
The Players Association’s reluctance to start the season early is particularly confounding given the very dire consequences those revenue losses could have on the NBA players.
As ESPN pointed out, the current collective bargaining agreement includes a 50-50 revenue split between the players and the league. A massive drop in revenue would mean a steep drop in player salaries.
While some players with exorbitant salaries, such as LeBron James, John Wall and Chris Paul, would still collect a hefty chunk of change, players on rookie-scale deals or making the league minimum might not be as amenable to those depressed salaries.
So it as simple as going woke and then going broke?
Much like with anything else in life, no, it’s not that simple.
But at the very least, the NBA might want to significantly rethink its strategy of engaging in hyper-partisan politics and alienating its fans.
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