What percentage of BRI should players get in the new CBA?

[LooseCannon]

From The Wages of Win blog:

   

• Player’s salaries have stayed even with inflation. Essentially this means their pay has not been going up.
• Owners have been increasing their spending. Management’s operating costs (per their own numbers) have been going up at five times the level of inflation (that’s a lot).
• Even in the ideal case for the owners with the new CBA these problems will repeat themselves in 2020.
• The Owners are asking the players to take a pay hit to make up for bad management practices.

By using the owners' own numbers, the economic woes of NBA teams seem to be mainly because team operating costs are increasing at five times the rate of player salary costs. 

It makes me wonder if the owners are using accounting tricks like paying themselves fat executive salaries in an attempt to seem less profitable so they can force a showdown.

[Donoghus]

From The Wages of Win blog:

   

• Player’s salaries have stayed even with inflation. Essentially this means their pay has not been going up.
• Owners have been increasing their spending. Management’s operating costs (per their own numbers) have been going up at five times the level of inflation (that’s a lot).
• Even in the ideal case for the owners with the new CBA these problems will repeat themselves in 2020.
• The Owners are asking the players to take a pay hit to make up for bad management practices.

By using the owners' own numbers, the economic woes of NBA teams seem to be mainly because team operating costs are increasing at five times the rate of player salary costs. 

It makes me wonder if the owners are using accounting tricks like paying themselves fat executive salaries in an attempt to seem less profitable so they can force a showdown.

I'd look at amortizaton of intangibles myself.  See what that looks like. 

[Fafnir]

Yeah owners routinely amortize player's payroll to make their losses look bigger than they are. (its handy for negotiating and reducing their tax bills)

[action781]

How many NBA teams sold in the last 20 years sold at less money than it was purchased at? How money owners sold and in the end ended up with a net loss as a whole after selling their team?

I don't know the answer to these questions but my guess is the answer isn't much above zero.

22 teams are losing money? Then act like you are losing money.

Atlanta signed Joe Johnson for 6 years/$123 million, they are about to be sold

Golden State signed David Lee to 5 years/$80 million and then got sold

Milwaukee signed Drew Gooden 5 years/$32 million and John Salmons 5 years/$39 million

Memphis signed Rudy Gay to 5 years/$82 million

Minnesota inexplicably signed Darko Milicic 4 years/$20 million, Nikola Pekovic 4 years/$13 million and Luke Ridnour 4 years/$16 million. $49 million FOR ROLE PLAYING BENCH WARMERS ON ANY GOOD TEAM IN THE LEAGUE.

Sorry, I believe this whole lockout/CBA thing being nothing more than a way to screw the product that entertains the fans out of money because the owners can control their free spending ways. And if they can't make money they sell the franchise and recoup back all their loses and then some making big money.

I don't by the owners stance at all. The system works, you just have to manage yourself properly and too many teams don't. It really is that simple.

But if the players give back to the BRI an amount of about 5% and the system stays relatively the same but with shorter guaranteed contracts and a one time in five year amnesty to void a contract due to non-performance, I think that would be palatable for the players.

To answer your first question, Jordan bought the Bobcats for $275 million from Robert Johnson who bought them for $300 million in 2003.

[Chris]

I love this comment by Billy Hunter on the day the league makes the lockout official:

Hunter said the union made a "moderate" new financial proposal, but it wasn't enough to keep the two sides at the bargaining table.

Even if it isn't true, can't he at least pretend that the players were trying to get a deal done? 

I really get the feeling that Hunter is just looking for a long fight here.

[action781]

I agree with David Aldridge: make it a 50-50 split.  No math or calculations involved at all.  Let's just agree on 50-50 so we can have a season and if it's absolutely unfair for either side (I can't imagine), then we can open discussions back up next CBA.  But let's face it, NBA owners are losing money and NBA players are making an absolute crapload.  So, give a little back now players - you'll still be making a ton of money.

Then, if any owners are still losing money, that number should be at least fewer, so the players can point to them as being crappy owners rather than a flawed split in BRI.

Several owners are making completely bone headed decisions and need to pay.  Hopefully this will help point out who the worst offenders are.

[CaptainJackLee]

50% of the BRI is too low. 50% of the total revenue could be acceptable and it'd still be a good deal for the owners.

Since the 60s, America have spent between 56% and 59% of their product in compensation for workers (wages as % of the GDP - http://i56.tinypic.com/2mw55c3.gif) .

Sports leagues are labour intensive industries. The NBA isn't an oil company, with royalties, machinery and capital expenses eating most of the revenue.

If the only way NBA owners have of running a profitable basketball league is by reducing the % of the revenue going to players salaries to 40% then they're incredibly incompetent managers that need to be put out of business.

And eventually the market will work. The only way the NBA can survive in the long term paying the players so little is if they become a legal monopoly. It wont' happen, so players should be looking for new investors. It's a matter of time till someone thinks "heck, I can pay the players a lot more money that they're making and still make a lot of money to myself" and acts on it.

[CaptainJackLee]

From The Wages of Win blog:

   

• Player’s salaries have stayed even with inflation. Essentially this means their pay has not been going up.
• Owners have been increasing their spending. Management’s operating costs (per their own numbers) have been going up at five times the level of inflation (that’s a lot).
• Even in the ideal case for the owners with the new CBA these problems will repeat themselves in 2020.

[li]The Owners are asking the players to take a pay hit to make up for bad management practices.[/li]

[/list]

By using the owners' own numbers, the economic woes of NBA teams seem to be mainly because team operating costs are increasing at five times the rate of player salary costs. 

It makes me wonder if the owners are using accounting tricks like paying themselves fat executive salaries in an attempt to seem less profitable so they can force a showdown.

Fully agreed.

There are two important factors here:
- plenty of owners don't care about running their franchises efficiently from an economic perspective. It's an afterthought. This creates a very perverse dynamic.
- there's a huge imbalance in the revenue potential between franchises.

More than renegotiating players salaries, the NBA needs two things:
- imposing a debt limit to teams + imposing management procedures/rules including caps on non-players salary expenses.
- stronger revenue-sharing

This is what is really important to the long-term viability of the NBA. Otherwise, owners can lower the share of the revenue going to players to 33% and in 10 years we'll be talking about how NBA teams are losing money.

[D Dub]

50% of the BRI is too low. 50% of the total revenue could be acceptable and it'd still be a good deal for the owners.

Since the 60s, American companies have spent between 56% and 59% of their product in compensation for workers.

Sports leagues are labour intensive industries. The NBA isn't an oil company, with royalties, machinery and capital expenses eating most of the revenue.

If the only way NBA owners have of running a profitable basketball league is by reducing the % of the revenue going to players salaries to 40% then they're incredibly incompetent managers that need to be put out of business.

And eventually the market will work. The only way the NBA can survive in the long term paying the players so little is if they become a legal monopoly. It wont' happen, so players should be looking for new investors. It's a matter of time till someone thinks "heck, I can pay the players a lot more money that they're making and still make a lot of money to myself" and acts on it.

I've been reading all kinds of CBA crap for hours, and these are the most reasoned thoughts I've seen.

TP for you, sir.