Katie Howlin ’12
The four-month National Basketball Association’s lockout has come to a close. As of November 26, 2011, the players and owners reached a potential agreement that would include a 66 game season, with the opening games being played on Christmas Day, and training camps beginning on December 9th.
The lockout began on July 1, 2011 after the collective bargaining agreement between athletes and owners expired, and they could not decide on new terms for issues such as salary caps and division of revenues. The revenues that were disputed included ticket sales, television contracts, and merchandise and clothing sales. The owners initiated the lockout when they wanted to change the contract in their favor, after they claimed to have lost $300 million a year. The owners proposed to reduce the players’ salaries by 40 percent and institute a $45 million hard salary cap per team. The salary cap is the maximum amount of money a team can pay its players in any given season, and it is intended to keep a competitive balance between the teams. One concern expressed regarding the salary caps is that the teams may not be able to guarantee contracts as they have in the past. With the possibility of a non-existent 2011-2012 season, around 90 NBA players signed with overseas teams, though many had a clause in their contract that would allow them to play for the NBA if a 2011-2012 season was announced. The athletes who signed with overseas teams took major pay cuts to do so. When asked about the 2011-2012 season and lockout, Collin Wright ’12 correctly predicted that the players would have to concede, because, “the owners don’t need the money [earned after another season] the way the players do, and the young guys need [the money] to continue their lifestyles.” In short, the owners have sufficient money to continue their lifestyles without a season while the players are dependent on this money to live the way they do now. Wright also attributed many of the current issues within the league to the irresponsible actions of many agents.
A major issue that long went unrecognized in the lockout was the effect on those who make a living from the season, such as security personnel or concessions stand workers. Brian Metzler ’12 stated, “I feel bad for the normal people who make a living at the stadiums as they were dependent on the 2011-2012 season, and with the economy finding another job could be difficult.” The corporations who make money selling NBA paraphernalia and clothing also faced potential problems if the lockout did not come to an end. The potential new collective bargaining agreement, which would last ten years, transfers $1 billion from the players to the owners, giving the players 49 percent of the revenue and the owners 51 percent. The owners will also benefit from shorter contract lengths of both returning and incoming players.
Many view the owners as the ‘winners’ of the lockout, as they were able to hold out until the players conceded to their wishes, and the new collective bargaining agreement is considered to be more favorable to the owners than the athletes. However, while the athletes did lose the mid-level exception, revenue sharing and luxury tax, they won on smaller scale issues such as the minimum salary for a team and escrow.
Because the 2011-2012 season will have a late start, the schedule for this season will be different than in previous years. This season will feature more back-to-back games, even in the playoffs.
As for the Philadelphia 76ers, the team is in a good position, as they will not need to enact their amnesty clause, the one-year clause that eliminates one player’s salary from counting against the salary cap and luxury tax. Because they do not need to enact this clause, the team has the option of using it for any future season as needed. To get ready for the upcoming season, 76er’s Coach Doug Collins has watched film from last season so that he can better prepare the team with the little practice they have before Christmas. The team will use Saint Joseph’s University for its abbreviated training camp.