Why Was There A 2011 Nba Lockout?
Contents
The NBA lockout of 2011 was a result of a disagreement between the league’s owners and players over how to divide the league’s revenue. The owners wanted a larger share, while the players wanted to keep the existing split. Ultimately, the lockout cost the league over $400 million in revenue and caused the cancellation of the first two months of the season.
Introduction
The 2011 NBA lockout was the fourth lockout in the history of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The work stoppage began on July 1, 2011 and ended on December 8, 2011. It delayed the start of the 2011–12 regular season from November 1 to December 25. During the lockout, players were unable to sign contracts with their teams or to have contact with team personnel.
The key issues during the lockout were the division of basketball-related income (BRI) between the owners and players, restrictions on player salaries and benefits, and changes to the NBA’s revenue sharing system.
Basketball-related income is defined as all revenue generated by NBA teams, including ticket sales, luxury suite rentals, broadcast rights fees, merchandise sales, and more. In 2010–11, BRI totaled $4.3 billion – an all-time high – with $2.1 billion going to the players in salary and benefits. The players’ share of BRI had been 57% from 1999 until 2010 when it jumped to 61% following a negotiated settlement between the owners and players after the 1998–99 lockout. Under the previous collective bargaining agreement (CBA), which ran from 2005 until June 30, 2011, both sides had an equal say in how BRI was divided – meaning that if one side wanted a larger share, they had to negotiate with the other side for it.
The owners initially proposed a 50-50 split of BRI in their first offer to the players on June 30, 2011 – just hours before the expiration of the previous CBA. The proposal was rejected by the players’ union (NBPA) who countered with their own proposal for a 52-48 split in their favor. Throughout July and August, both sides continued to exchange proposals but no progress was made towards an agreement. On August 1, 2011 – with both sides still far apart on economic issues – NBA Commissioner David Stern announced that training camps and preseason games would be postponed indefinitely.
What caused the 2011 NBA lockout?
The NBA lockout was caused by the owners and players not being able to agree on a new collective bargaining agreement. The players were looking for a larger share of the revenue, while the owners wanted to keep their profits. Eventually, the two sides could not come to an agreement and the lockout began.
BRI
The main issue in the 2011 NBA lockout was the division of revenue between the players and the owners. In the previous collective bargaining agreement (CBA), the players received 57% of all basketball-related income (BRI). The owners wanted to decrease that number to around 50%, while the players were only willing to go down to 53%.
Other issues included a “hard” salary cap, which would have made it difficult for teams to keep talented players together, and tougher luxury taxes for teams that spend over a certain amount on salaries. The luxury tax is designed to discourage teams from spending too much and getting an unfair competitive advantage.
The lockout began on July 1, 2011, and lasted 161 days. It was the longest work stoppage in NBA history. During the lockout, no games were played. Ultimately, a new CBA was reached and the season began on Christmas Day 2011.
Revenue sharing
During the 2006 CBA negotiations, the players and owners could not come to an agreement on how to divvy up the league’s Basketball Related Income (BRI). The league offered a 53-47 split in favor of the owners, while the union countered with a 50-50 split. After much back and forth, they eventually settled on a 50-50 revenue split. However, this was only after the union decertified and the members filed an antitrust lawsuit against the league.
The 2011 NBA lockout was caused by a disagreement between the owners and players over how to divide the league’s revenue. The league offered a 53-47 split in favor of the owners, while the union countered with a 50-50 split. After much back and forth, they eventually settled on a 50-50 revenue split. However, this was only after the union decertified and the members filed an antitrust lawsuit against the league.
How did the 2011 NBA lockout affect players and teams?
The 2011 NBA lockout was the result of a disagreement between the NBA and the National Basketball Players Association (NBPA) over the league’s collective bargaining agreement (CBA). The main issue dividing the two sides was how to divide the league’s revenue among the players and teams. The lockout began on July 1, 2011 and ended on December 8, 2011, costing the league about $4 billion in lost revenue.
Players
The work stoppage lasted 161 days and forced the cancellation of 16 regular-season games per team, as well as the entire postseason. Players were receive no paychecks during the lockout, which put many in financial hardship. In order to make ends meet, some players took jobs outside of basketball.
The lockout also had a negative impact on the development of young players. Without access to team facilities and coaches, many second- and third-year players regressed instead of improving. As a result, the quality of play suffered when the lockout finally ended and the season began.
Teams
The teams were mainly affected by the loss of revenue. The teams split basketball related income with the players, so when the games weren’t being played, the teams weren’t making any money. This led to many teams cutting costs, by not re-signing some players, or trading away others. The lockout also caused the cancellation of the Pre-Season, which is when most new players make their debuts for their respective teams.
Conclusion
The lockout was caused by a large discrepancy in how much money the players and owners thought the players were worth. The players wanted a 50-50 split of Basketball Related Income (BRI), while the owners were only offering them 47%. After months of failed negotiations, the lockout finally ended on December 8, 2011 when the players and owners reached a new Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA).