Adam Silver has made all the right moves during his early tenure as NBA commissioner, but as he enters his first full season running the league, he faces a set of new challenges that surely will test his hot hand.
Silver, who replaced the retired David Stern on Feb. 1, has quickly proved to the NBA’s 30 owners that he is more than tough enough to handle the rigors of the job.
Just three months into his job, Silver skillfully navigated his first major crisis as commissioner in ousting former Los Angeles Clippers owner Donald Sterling after Sterling’s racist comments rocked the NBA.
Not only did Silver win over public opinion in removing Sterling, but he also managed the forced sale of the
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The possibility of opting out of the current labor deal with players, potential changes to the revenue-sharing plan, and a push to increase the age limit for players are some of the issues now facing Adam Silver.
Photo by: Getty Images |
Clippers for a whopping $2 billion to former Microsoft Chief Executive Officer Steve Ballmer.
Then, only two months after the league closed the Clippers sale with Ballmer, Silver delivered to the owners a stunning $24 billion, nine-year television extension with Turner and ESPN that nearly triples the current deal. The new deal will give NBA owners about $90 million a year on average over the nine years of the agreement.
Silver got creative in pushing
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the value of the deal by carving out additional rights for ESPN and Turner with new digital offerings including the creation of an over-the-top network with ESPN, all the while satisfying NBA owners by protecting their local media rights.
“We didn’t have a 360-degree view of him as deputy commissioner and I don’t think many of us knew how great his instincts are,” said Washington Wizards owner Ted Leonsis, who worked closely with Silver during the league’s television negotiations.
Silver has also wasted no time in restructuring the NBA league office, immediately naming Mark Tatum as his replacement as deputy commissioner (see chart).
He has begun to more aggressively market the NBA, highlighted by the hiring of new Chief Marketing Officer Pamela El. This season, the NBA rolled out a new leaguewide global marketing campaign and is extending its media buys across network and cable outlets as it spends more to increase league branding.
“We are going to be more aggressive with our marketing from both a media and creative standpoint,” El said.
While Silver’s accomplishments in such a short span have been impressive, he will be tested in several ways this season.
For example, while the new TV deal brings more revenue to the league, it also has major implications for the salary cap, the collective-bargaining agreement and revenue sharing.
Silver must find a way to “smooth out” the cap to avoid sudden huge increases. He also must build a working relationship with newly hired National Basketball Players Association Executive Director Michele Roberts as the union begins to address what effect the TV deal has on the current CBA. Silver already has begun meeting with Roberts.
The players and the league can opt out of the current CBA deal after the 2016-17 season. Each side would have to notify the other of its plan to opt out by December 2015.
On a separate but parallel track, Silver will be charged with addressing potential changes to the revenue-sharing plan that was implemented in 2011 when the current CBA was negotiated.
Revenue sharing was a controversial issue for the owners in 2011 and now, with owners re-evaluating the deal, Silver must guide any changes made to the plan, which shifts millions of dollars from big-market teams to smaller, less profitable franchises. Silver and the owners this month have already begun their re-evaluation of revenue sharing, and changes could occur this season.
Another hot-button labor issue for Silver is changing the current age limit, which requires players to be at least 19 years old, or one year removed from high school, before they can enter the league. The current age limit has sparked the “one-and-done” issue that has college players leaving school after one season. Silver favors raising the age limit.
On the team front, Silver is dealing with another messy ownership situation, this time with Atlanta Hawks majority owner Bruce Levenson, who self-reported to the league in September that he wrote a racially charged email in 2012.
After the email became public last month, Levenson announced he was selling his majority interest in the Hawks.
Silver and the NBA are not directly involved in the sale of the franchise, but the Hawks represent a challenge for Silver as the team changes hands under tough circumstances.
