NBPA's Michele Roberts refutes Adam Silver's position on financial state of NBA
NBPA executive director Michele Roberts vehemently refuted NBA commissioner Adam Silver's claim that some teams in the league are losing money.
Silver commented on the state of the league Tuesday, addressing a number of prospective rule changes, the free-agency moratorium, and relocation rumors. The commissioner's most salient point was his contention that, in spite of the NBA's massive growth on both domestic and international fronts, a number of teams are operating at a loss.
Roberts released an email statement Wednesday to several media members:
All of the data we have access to indicates that our business is thriving and will continue to do so for the near future. We agreed not to debate the finer points of negotiation in public, and aren't going to change that approach now, in response to some remarks by the Commissioner on Tuesday. We are, however, going to take him up on his offer to share the audited financials with the union.
Roberts contended that the players' 50-percent share of revenues isn't accurately calculated, with the league reporting the figure after significant expenses and deductions are accounted for. The executive director also stated that revenues from new arenas in Brooklyn and Orlando haven't been accounted for in basketball related income (BRI):
Virtually every business metric demonstrates that our business is healthy. Gate receipts, merchandise sales and TV ratings are at an all-time high. Franchise values have risen exponentially in recent years, and the NBA has enjoyed high single digit revenue growth since 2010-11.
The NBPA can opt out of the current collective bargaining agreement in 2017, an avenue they may explore if Roberts's assertion is any indication. While Silver has maintained optimism there won't be a work stoppage, some agents have been operating as if it's a probability.
In large part due to the NBA's new $24-billion television deal, the salary cap is slated to skyrocket for the 2016-17 season, something that could result in the league owing substantial shortfall payments to the players.
Roberts stated that she will demand financial audits of the league and its teams, ostensibly to show in a transparent manner that Silver's calculations were incorrect. Silver has expressed an openness to those audits, which the union has the right to conduct.
The NBPA head previously asserted her disdain for the salary cap in a November 2014 interview and has also taken hard-line stances against maximum salaries and a proposed increase of the league's age minimum, among other things. Some of this may be rhetoric designed to establish a polar negotiating position ahead of a potentially contentious round of collective bargaining, but how the league presents gains and losses is something Roberts is clearly not a fan of.
There are still two summers left before a new collective bargaining agreement can be ratified, but it appears the parties' opinions on the financial state of the league are already diametrically opposed.