themadcowtipper
Smells faintly of rancid stilton.
The NBA is closing in on an agreement on a new collective bargaining agreement with its players' association, ESPN reported on Monday night.
The new deal would include a 19-year-old age limit, reduce contract lengths and raise the salary cap, according to the report, which cited "sources close to both negotiating committees."
The report said that the new deal would run for six years, and help the league avoid a lockout, which would begin on July 1.
The sides are scheduled to meet again on Tuesday in New York, NBA spokesman Tim Frank told ESPN.
According to the unnamed sources from both sides cited in the report, all of the major issues have been agreed to in principle. Tuesday's meeting will be used to work out the finer points of the new agreement. Both sources told ESPN that none of the issues left are major sticking points.
Even if an agreement is reach soon, it could still take several more weeks for the final agreement to be drafted, which could delay the free agent period scheduled to start on July 1.
The 19-year-old age limit would bar some, but not all, high school players. Suns star Amare Stoudemire was already 19 when he was drafted three years ago.
The current agreement has an age limit of 18, a drug-testing program whose effectiveness was questioned by Congress last month and contracts with a maximum length of seven years.
Also, currenct maximum contract lengths will be reduced by one year, to six years. According to ESPN, the new deal will allow teams to get an extra option year on rookie contracts.
According to the report, the owners will also guarantee that player salaries will be 57 percent of basketball-related income. The salary cap will also increase from 48 percent of basketball-related income to 51 percent.
The NBAs last lockout began seven years ago and was a disastrous one. It lasted over six months, forced the cancellation of regular-season games for the first time in league history and created drastic drop-offs in TV ratings, fan interest and revenue.
During the last lockout, there was a public perception that NBA players - who at an average annual salary of $4.4 million are the highest-paid athletes in the world - were greedy and immature.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/8295646/
The new deal would include a 19-year-old age limit, reduce contract lengths and raise the salary cap, according to the report, which cited "sources close to both negotiating committees."
The report said that the new deal would run for six years, and help the league avoid a lockout, which would begin on July 1.
The sides are scheduled to meet again on Tuesday in New York, NBA spokesman Tim Frank told ESPN.
According to the unnamed sources from both sides cited in the report, all of the major issues have been agreed to in principle. Tuesday's meeting will be used to work out the finer points of the new agreement. Both sources told ESPN that none of the issues left are major sticking points.
Even if an agreement is reach soon, it could still take several more weeks for the final agreement to be drafted, which could delay the free agent period scheduled to start on July 1.
The 19-year-old age limit would bar some, but not all, high school players. Suns star Amare Stoudemire was already 19 when he was drafted three years ago.
The current agreement has an age limit of 18, a drug-testing program whose effectiveness was questioned by Congress last month and contracts with a maximum length of seven years.
Also, currenct maximum contract lengths will be reduced by one year, to six years. According to ESPN, the new deal will allow teams to get an extra option year on rookie contracts.
According to the report, the owners will also guarantee that player salaries will be 57 percent of basketball-related income. The salary cap will also increase from 48 percent of basketball-related income to 51 percent.
The NBAs last lockout began seven years ago and was a disastrous one. It lasted over six months, forced the cancellation of regular-season games for the first time in league history and created drastic drop-offs in TV ratings, fan interest and revenue.
During the last lockout, there was a public perception that NBA players - who at an average annual salary of $4.4 million are the highest-paid athletes in the world - were greedy and immature.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/8295646/