The present honours the past in CBA talks
Today’s players insist benefits for predecessors be a part of any new deal with league
The intricacies of the collective bargaining agreement that’s close to fruition between the NBA and the Players Association are still being worked out but one of the pillars of the new agreement will be enhanced benefits for retired players.
That could mean everything from extended health-care coverage once careers are over to a spike in pension pay and assistance for those ex-players who fall on hard times — the details are being worked out.
But it speaks loudly to the commitment of today’s players that they would make it such a focal point of the negotiations after so many bargaining groups before them haven’t brought the needs of past players to the fore.
“This league is a rough and brutal league, we’ve got to be able to take care of the guys who have been through this before, who put us in this position to be as successful as we are,” Toronto guard Kyle Lowry said this week.
“Those guys paved the way, so why not take care of those guys?”
Still to be determined is how much actually money goes to the retired players, when they might be eligible to get it and from which share of the pie it will come from.
While negotiations on the new deal are not complete — commissioner Adam Silver hinted last week that a new deal is well within grasp — one of the parameters is reportedly the same 50-50 split of “basketball-related income” that exists now.
Whether the league and players as- sociation would kick in the same amount has never been reported or hinted at. But there is no doubt there’s enough money in the pipeline to make changes.
Lowry has been actively involved in two sets of bargaining now and serves as Toronto’s de facto player representative. He said the decision to actively lobby for better care for retired players serves as homage to them on one hand but there are also ulterior motives.
“The way the money is coming in, the way the thinking is around the league, as current players now, why wouldn’t we want to be taken care of when we’re done?” he said. “It’s smart, but selfish at the same time. We all want to make sure we have health insurance for our families, our kids, we still have to take care of our families.”
The top players in the league are taking a greater role in negotiations this time around and they are pushing for help for their predecessors.
“We got a group of guys that are in there that know the negotiations, so any way to give back and try to help our former teammates and help former players and things of that nature, (we have to do),” LeBron James told reporters last week. “Because we’ve all built this league together. No matter how big of a guy you were or if you were the 15th guy on the bench, we all built this league into what it is today.
“It’s not just my idea. I’m not taking any credit for that. But it’s all part of the process.”