NBA Insider Reveals Promising CBA Update
The NBA and the NBA Players Association have been negotiating a new collective bargaining agreement lately in order to avoid a work stoppage.
According to NBA insider Keith Smith, both sides are close to an agreement, and that an agreement may come as soon as Friday night.
The NBA and NBPA are closing in on a new CBA, sources tell @spotrac. There are still details to be agreed upon, but a long-term agreement is getting close. There’s belief it will get done tonight.
— Keith Smith (@KeithSmithNBA) March 31, 2023
In order to prevent the league from opting out of the current CBA in the 2023-24 season, the deadline to achieve a new agreement falls on Friday night.
In the past, both sides had trouble coming to terms on a new CBA, and as a result, the NBA had two much-publicized lockouts, one in the 1998-99 season and another one in 2011.
During the fall of 1998, players received lots of criticism for supposedly being spoiled and self-entitled, as they were demanding a greater share of the league’s revenue, and it was the first time it had lost games due to a labor stoppage.
However, in 2011, a lot of the blame went to owners, who wanted to reduce the players’ share of revenue, supposedly in order to recoup business losses the owners incurred.
This time around, the players’ association was hoping to get rid of the NBA’s age limit, which currently requires players to wait until one year has passed from the graduation of their high school class in order to be eligible for the draft.
But the labor union reportedly won’t pursue lowering the age limit to 18.
In 2025, the NBA will enter a new contract with its network broadcasters, and people around the league expect that it will result in another increase in player salaries.