NBPA, league reached compromise on escrow system to spread losses out across multiple seasonsNBAE/GETTY IMAGES
The NBA and NBPA "reached an agreement in principle" on the start of the '20-21 season, as well as on an amended CBA, according to Bontemps & Wojnarowski of ESPN.com. The deal calls for free agency to begin at 6:00pm ET on Nov. 20, "two days after next week's NBA draft." The regular season "will begin Dec. 22, and the schedule will be 72 games." The salary cap will be set at $109.1M, and the luxury tax at $132.6M -- the "same numbers they were" during the '19-20 season. The salary cap will be "guaranteed to go up by a minimum of 3% per year." The two sides also "came up with a compromise on the escrow system to spread the losses out across multiple seasons." The typical escrow withholding of 10% "will remain in place." If there is a "need to reduce player salaries by more than that 10%, that loss will be spread out over that season, as well as the following two -- and players can never have more than 20% of their salary withheld in a single season." The "hope on both sides is that future seasons will see the league be able to return to normal financial footing as the pandemic subsides." Sources said that in an "attempt to ease the tax burdens of teams that had been planning on the salary cap and luxury tax continuing to steadily rise, the NBA "will reduce the luxury tax bill for teams" at the end of the '20-21 season by the "percentage amount that the league's Basketball Related Income declines from initial projections." For example, if BRI drops from a projected $8.45B to $5.9B -- a 30% decline -- the Warriors' "projected luxury tax bill would be reduced" from $60M to $42M (ESPN.com, 11/9).
JAM-PACKED PRESEASON: USA TODAY's Mark Medina notes the Nov. 20 start to free agency will give all 30 teams "just over a month to finalize their roster before the season opener on Dec. 22" (USA TODAY, 11/10). In L.A., Kyle Goon writes free agency negotiations will begin "less than 48 hours after the draft and just 10 days before players are expected to report to training camp -- setting up a frenetic marketplace for team front offices as they try to squeeze roster construction and the balancing of books into a matter of days." The short turnaround of the offseason "reflects the urgency the NBA is feeling to recoup television revenue and re-track to its traditional schedule" (L.A. DAILY NEWS, 11/10).
FISCAL POLICY: In DC, Ben Golliver writes, "Basketball is headed for a whirlwind month." Typically, the NBA's cap and tax numbers are "tied directly to the league’s revenue, so a drop in revenue would lead to drops in the cap and tax line." But to cope with the "unforeseen losses caused by the pandemic, the owners and players agreed to hold the cap and tax numbers steady so that free agency business could continue as normal and so that teams wouldn’t be facing unexpected luxury tax bills" (WASHINGTON POST, 11/10).
TIGHT SQUEEZE FOR PLAYERS: ESPN.com's Baxter Holmes reports health officials around the NBA have "expressed concern for how to prepare players for a potential 72-game regular season." An official closely involved with player health said, "I'd be more worried about travel, because we saw in the bubble, not having travel really helped guys recover. So I don't know if it's actually the amount of games [72], but it's just the fact that you're getting to 2 a.m. in the morning and you're traveling now." Still, league officials are "confident that the reduced number of games and adjustments to reduce travel will aid teams" (ESPN.com, 11/9).
