Players, owners, ratify new NBA deal

NBA players and owners have ratified a new collective bargaining agreement that promises players a significant slice of the billions of dollars being generated by the league, the NBA said.

“The new Collective Bargaining Agreement was ratified this week by the NBA players and NBA Board of Governors,” the league said in a statement. “The new agreement will take effect on July 1, 2017 and run through the 2023-24 season. “The parties voted based on a term sheet that outlines the key deal points. Once the NBA and NBPA finish drafting and execute the complete agreement, specific details will be released.”

While details have not been officially released, US media reported when the deal was tentatively agreed that players will keep between 49 and 51 percent of basketball related income (BRI), and can expect to see $1.5 billion more in player salaries in the first year of the new deal than they saw under the 2011 contract soon to expire.

With a nine-year, $24 billion television deal with ESPN and Turner Sports making for the most prosperous era in the history of the NBA, the parties had reached agreement on the deal last Wednesday, one day before an opt-out deadline.

The new deal also contains an opt-out clause after the sixth year.

The cordial negotiations were a far cry from those leading to the last contract in 2011, when owners locked out players in a work stoppage that lasted more than five months and caused the 2011-12 season to be trimmed to 66 games per team. — AFP