Confirmation that NBA deflation is coming

[QuinielaBox]

$400m loss for NBA?
As written up in the Globe this morning:
David Stern said at his State of the NBA news conference that the league will lose $400 million this season.

Despite the league’s international appeal and stable attendance, Stern said the league is struggling and there needs to be changes in the collective bargaining agreement.

“At the early meetings, we actually showed players the numbers that would underscore our current economic circumstances,’’ he said. “And what those numbers showed, give or take, is a leaguewide loss of about $400 million.’’

Stern also said he expects the Bobcats to be sold within 60 days. Michael Jordan, a minority investor in the team, has run the Bobcats’ basketball operations since 2006 and has the right of first refusal on any sale.

400 million is 13.33 million per team on average. Fans are no longer paying into David Stern's hype machine. Players can look forward to reduced offers next year unless your name is Lebron. The next CBA is going to be quite contentious and we can look forward to a damaging lockout not that it would entirely bad. Hockey seems to be very entertaining to watch (except if you are Bruin fan). So if the NBA takes a season off and the players lose a years salary, perhaps they can get their priorities correct and serve the fans. A lot of players could go to Europe or Asia or Australia leaving teams shorthanded. This could result in contraction of teams that would result in stronger teams and a stronger team in the long run.


Either way, the league must find ways to improve the quality of their product which includes consistency in the enforcement of the rules and salary reductions to get in line with reduced revenue coming into the league.

[dlpin]

While the losses on the books might look like 400 million, owners lost a lot less than that in reality. Part of the reason these CBA talks get so contentious is because owners like to play dumb: besides whatever operational profits/losses these teams have, they also have a lot of value as tax write offs. Even a contract's "depreciation" is used to get tax deductions.

Add to that the fact that value of franchises are increasing relatively fast and you a very different picture from actual losses/profit.

Not saying that they are not losing money right now, or that somethings dont need to be changed, but owners all know really well that the actual profit/loss is quite probably the least of their worries when owning a team.

[QuinielaBox]

While the losses on the books might look like 400 million, owners lost a lot less than that in reality. Part of the reason these CBA talks get so contentious is because owners like to play dumb: besides whatever operational profits/losses these teams have, they also have a lot of value as tax write offs. Even a contract's "depreciation" is used to get tax deductions.

Add to that the fact that value of franchises are increasing relatively fast and you a very different picture from actual losses/profit.

Not saying that they are not losing money right now, or that somethings dont need to be changed, but owners all know really well that the actual profit/loss is quite probably the least of their worries when owning a team.

I am not so sure that the franchise valuations are rising everywhere. It all has to do with location, location, location. Owners do all have many streams of income, otherwise they cannot afford to play in the BIG GAME. This tax writeoff thing is overrated in my opinion.

Bottom line is that it is time to rein in costs of running an NBA team.

[dlpin]

One of the latest pieces about the values of each franchise estimated that using contract depreciation as a tax write off was about 10% of a Franchise's value.

[PLamb]

With the right accountant I have seen companies with sales of $40 million show $60 million losses and the owner of the company still making money

Unless a company is a publicly traded entity, I refuse to believe what any owner tells me about their bottom line profit and loss

And even then......

[Andy Jick]

the nba is, in my opinion, thumbing it's nose at an important fan-base: the 35 and over generation.

for example, i turned on the all-star game introduction and the nba apparently thinks we enjoy watching players dance to hip hop music...annoying PA announcers...chest thumping, self-promoting basketball players.  after surviving the opening of the all-star game, i watched the first quarter and it nearly put me to sleep.  i turned it off and headed out to see a movie.

i'm 37 years old...honestly, i can't stand the nba.  i didn't purchase the League Pass tv package as i find the game to be largely boring.  most teams don't compete until the 4th quarter, so we get to watch 36 minutes of (largely) stagnant basketball.  it's mostly a one-on-one game, with very little low post play and players don't really have defined positions any longer. 

i understand that things change, but the game is evolving for the worst...

i know that by posting this i'll have people tell me to just go away...might even label me a racist or single me out as a hater.  that's okay.  i'm entitled to my opinion, and i'd guess i'm not alone with my feelings.

[guava_wrench]

the nba is, in my opinion, thumbing it's nose at an important fan-base: the 35 and over generation.

for example, i turned on the all-star game introduction and the nba apparently thinks we enjoy watching players dance to hip hop music...annoying PA announcers...chest thumping, self-promoting basketball players.  after surviving the opening of the all-star game, i watched the first quarter and it nearly put me to sleep.  i turned it off and headed out to see a movie.

i'm 37 years old...honestly, i can't stand the nba.  i didn't purchase the League Pass tv package as i find the game to be largely boring.  most teams don't compete until the 4th quarter, so we get to watch 36 minutes of (largely) stagnant basketball.  it's mostly a one-on-one game, with very little low post play and players don't really have defined positions any longer. 

i understand that things change, but the game is evolving for the worst...

i know that by posting this i'll have people tell me to just go away...might even label me a racist or single me out as a hater.  that's okay.  i'm entitled to my opinion, and i'd guess i'm not alone with my feelings.

I about one year older than you and I completely disagree. I like seeing the players enjoy themselves. I really don't care what type of music they use, but they are going to make it a production. Chest thumping? Who cares? Baseball players do all sorts of dumb things. Football players are the worst at this kind of self-promotion. A player can be down 3 TDs, sack the QB, and then pose for 5 seconds marveling at his accomplishment.

Whatever.

It is fun to see guys like Howard, Shaq and Lebron who are able to have a good time, which helps keep the energy level high in the arena.

I don't consider you a racist. I just consider you a grumpy old man before your time.

So long as they don't start playing country music before games, I'm fine.

[guava_wrench]

While the losses on the books might look like 400 million, owners lost a lot less than that in reality. Part of the reason these CBA talks get so contentious is because owners like to play dumb: besides whatever operational profits/losses these teams have, they also have a lot of value as tax write offs. Even a contract's "depreciation" is used to get tax deductions.

Add to that the fact that value of franchises are increasing relatively fast and you a very different picture from actual losses/profit.

Not saying that they are not losing money right now, or that somethings dont need to be changed, but owners all know really well that the actual profit/loss is quite probably the least of their worries when owning a team.

They say NBC is losing $50 million on the Olympics. Ad revenue is killing sports at the moment.

[Coach]

They say NBC is losing $50 million on the Olympics. Ad revenue is killing sports at the moment.

Ad revenue is killing sports?  I don't think so....
Lower ad revenue is just lowering the amount that the people in professional sports are going to get paid.  I, for one, don't care that LeBron's endorsement might go from 50 million this year, to 25 million the next.  And I don't think Lebron would play any worse if his contract and endorsements were cut in half.

I actually think that if contracts are cut in half, we might get a more humble league, which would be good for everyone.

I'd love to see the players decide to leave the NBA and start a new league.  Keep the teams the same, just have the players manage themselves.  It would take about 2 months before the players would be looking back to the good old days when they were fed a hefty check every month from the current owners.

Bring on the non-guaranteed contracts!

[rickyfan3.0...]

NBA is a joke on so many levels right now...

[PosImpos]

I have a feeling we're all trying to rationalize exactly how the NBA is flawed and headed in the wrong direction because it appears that the Celtics are too. 

Easier to take another stretch of mediocrity if the league is the problem, not our favorite team.

[Andy Jick]

I don't consider you a racist. I just consider you a grumpy old man before your time.

you don't even know me...  i'm a happily married, father of 4 children who is very happy in life (involved in my church) and in the education field.  i'm not "grumpy"...just don't like what basketball has become.  i LOVE hockey, as i've really gravitated to the sport over the last few years and attend a number of Tampa Bay Lightning games each year (live in a suburb of Tampa).

I was a fan of 80's basketball, and fell in love with Larry Bird...that era of basketball was a joy to watch.  David Stern is trying to appease the younger crowd, and all the while, he's is destroying the game.

that doesn't make me "grumpy" as you presume...i just don't like what's happening.

[clover]

They say NBC is losing $50 million on the Olympics. Ad revenue is killing sports at the moment.

Ad revenue is killing sports?  I don't think so....
Lower ad revenue is just lowering the amount that the people in professional sports are going to get paid.  I, for one, don't care that LeBron's endorsement might go from 50 million this year, to 25 million the next.  And I don't think Lebron would play any worse if his contract and endorsements were cut in half.

I actually think that if contracts are cut in half, we might get a more humble league, which would be good for everyone.

I'd love to see the players decide to leave the NBA and start a new league.  Keep the teams the same, just have the players manage themselves.  It would take about 2 months before the players would be looking back to the good old days when they were fed a hefty check every month from the current owners.

Bring on the non-guaranteed contracts!

Hear, hear!

[housecall]

First off you got to believe this is truth" NBA lossing $400milion.",next the players aren't buying it,so its a problem.

[PLamb]

First off you got to believe this is truth" NBA lossing $400milion.",next the players aren't buying it,so its a problem.

Why do we have to believe that