Players are the US equivalent of Premiership football players in the UK; subject to massive scrutiny from press and public, their every move documented and dissected. The salaries are comparable too, likewise the endorsements from sponsors.
The owners of the various teams are pretty comfortably off too. Most famous, probably, is Mark Cuban. He's worth a few quid apparently.
This is a league where both players and owners are among a financial elite, not likely to ever have to worry about whether they can afford to buy their next meal, or to replace the pair of shoes they're wearing. A pretty cosy existence for all concerned then, right? Apparently not. This Monday the NBA's commissioner David Stern confirmed that the first two weeks of the new season were being cancelled.
Why?
Because the billionaire owners and the millionaire players can't agree the details of a new Collective Bargaining Agreement. This is the document which dictates, for the next five years or so, how much of the league's revenue is kept by the team owners, how much is paid to the players, plus a load of other details which need tying down before anyone gets to knock down a three, hammer in a dunk on the fast break or swat a shot so hard it lands in the fifth row.
So, in brief, it's a bunch of very rich people arguing with a bunch of very very rich people about which group will get the most richer over the coming years. Meanwhile, the fans (who, in large part, are not that rich) get increasingly frustrated and disenchanted with the league, its players and its owners.
I should point out here that I am in no way against the accumulation of wealth by these people, kudos to them all for getting where they have, I just wish they could look at it from the perspective of someone who lives in the real world for a moment and get something sorted out.
It's a frustrating situation, with massive knock on effects on businesses and economies which rely on the NBA for their success, and it's already making me think "screw it, I'll watch college basketball instead".
Thankfully, there appear to still be some NBA players with a social conscience. Have a look at the comments by reigning MVP Derrick Rose of the Chicago Bulls in this article: http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2011/basketball/nba/09/27/derrick.rose.ap/index.html
Come on NBA, I need there to be a season so I can compose uninformed blog posts about it, because uninformed blog posts about the lockout are really boring!
Why?
Because the billionaire owners and the millionaire players can't agree the details of a new Collective Bargaining Agreement. This is the document which dictates, for the next five years or so, how much of the league's revenue is kept by the team owners, how much is paid to the players, plus a load of other details which need tying down before anyone gets to knock down a three, hammer in a dunk on the fast break or swat a shot so hard it lands in the fifth row.
So, in brief, it's a bunch of very rich people arguing with a bunch of very very rich people about which group will get the most richer over the coming years. Meanwhile, the fans (who, in large part, are not that rich) get increasingly frustrated and disenchanted with the league, its players and its owners.
I should point out here that I am in no way against the accumulation of wealth by these people, kudos to them all for getting where they have, I just wish they could look at it from the perspective of someone who lives in the real world for a moment and get something sorted out.
It's a frustrating situation, with massive knock on effects on businesses and economies which rely on the NBA for their success, and it's already making me think "screw it, I'll watch college basketball instead".
Thankfully, there appear to still be some NBA players with a social conscience. Have a look at the comments by reigning MVP Derrick Rose of the Chicago Bulls in this article: http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2011/basketball/nba/09/27/derrick.rose.ap/index.html
Come on NBA, I need there to be a season so I can compose uninformed blog posts about it, because uninformed blog posts about the lockout are really boring!
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