NBA Players, Owners Closing in on New CBA

In recent weeks, there has plenty of optimism from both the players and owners as the two sides meet to discuss the new collective bargaining agreement. After a Wednesday meeting that yielded a number of updates, it appears a new CBA is very close to being finalized.

Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical reports that the two sides have agreed to keep the same split of the NBA’s Basketball Related Income (BRI). In the current CBA, players receive a share in the range of 49 to 51 percent of the current BRI and it appears that will remain unchanged.

Other news to come out of today’s meeting is that the one-and-done rule is likely staying in the new CBA. NBA Commissioner Adam Silver has made it clear that he wants players to wait two years after graduating high school before entering the NBA (and the players would like to get rid of the age limit altogether), but it appears the two sides will keep the existing age restriction in place, according to Wojnarowski.

Also: “The NBA will raise rookie-scale, veteran minimum and free-agent exception deals in the new agreement, league sources said. Rises in those salaries could come in the 50 percent range over current numbers,” Wojnarowski writes.

As the two sides continue to meet, we’ll get a better idea of what the NBA’s new CBA will look like.

What’s becoming clear is that neither side wants to miss any games as a result of a work stoppage, and it seems likely that a new CBA could be agreed upon in the coming weeks – ahead of December’s opt-out deadline.

Recently, Basketball Insiders’ Eric Pincus wrote about several issues that need to be addressed in the league’s new CBA. If you’re curious what else might be in the new deal, check out his article here.