The National Basketball Players Association announced that they vetoed a “smoothing” proposal that was put on the table by the league office. The purpose of the proposal was to gradually raise the salary cap over a few years. However, the NBPA has rejected this proposal in favor of a major spike to the salary cap in 2016.
Currently, the NBA’s television contract is worth $930 million. During the 2016-2017 season a new contract will go into effect for the NBA. The new deal will bring in an estimated $2.67 billion. The new contract provides a significant increase in revenue that will have a big impact on the league’s salary cap. This is due to the fact that the salary cap is a figure that is agreed upon based on a percentage of the overall league revenue. As it stands right now the salary cap is just over $63 million, but with the new television contract the salary cap could increase to an estimated $90 million in just one year.
Without the gradual deal the salary cap will reach the highest percentage increase in league history. Also, it could provide bigger markets with an unfair spending advantage that could prevent smaller marketers from acquiring and obtaining players with star quality. However, for players like LeBron James and Kevin Durant it means that they will have the opportunity to make big money. The exact terms of the deal have not yet been worked out, but this is a topic to keep an eye on.
