Following a three-hour negotiating session between the NBA and National Basketball Players Association, both sides admitted that the discrepancy was too large to resolve before the deadline at midnight Eastern Time. Although the current agreement calls for 57% of basketball-related income to be distributed to the players under a US$58 million per team cap system, the owners had asked for the revenue split to be 50-50 under the new CBA, according to Reuters.
The union reduced its counter proposal to 54.3%, the equivalent of $100 million per year of additional revenue to the owners over a five-year term. However, with NBA commissioner David Stern having warned that the league will make a $300 million loss in the 2010-11 season, the two sides were still $7 billion apart in their demands over a 10-year CBA.
“The expiring collective bargaining agreement created a broken system that produced huge financial losses for our teams,” said NBA deputy commissioner Adam Silver. “We need a sustainable business model that allows all 30 teams to be able to compete for a championship, fairly compensates our players, and provides teams, if well-managed, with an opportunity to be profitable.”
Silver added: “We have made several proposals to the union, including a deal targeting $2 billion annually as the players' share – an average of approximately $5 million per player that could increase along with league revenue growth. Elements of our proposal would also better align players' pay with performance. We will continue to make every effort to reach a new agreement that is fair and in the best interests of our teams, our players, our fans, and our game.”
The lockout represents the NBA's first work stoppage since the 1998-99 season, but the National Football League (NFL), North America’s richest major league, has also been in a lockout scenario since March. “We just haven't been able to find that happy medium,” said union chief Billy Hunter. “We took a baby step (but) they didn't take any at all. They started from what we considered an extreme number (initially) and trying to get to where we are or us get to get to them is mammoth.”