While 2011 may seem far off, it’s looming just around the corner for two professional sports leagues.
The NFL and NBA both have labor contracts with their respective players’ unions that are set to expire that year.
Failing to come up with a new contract could mean a work stoppage — a lockout — for both leagues.
In his Feb. 14 State of the NBA address, Commissioner David Stern said that teams were collectively projected to lose $400 million this year and that they had annual collective losses of approximately $200 million over the last several seasons.
It is impossible to really know which teams are losing the most money, but after being provided with the teams’ economic information, even National Basketball Players Association Executive Director Billy Hunter acknowledged that there were teams who were “struggling” financially.
Houston is home to the Rockets, and before Thursday, the team had on its roster two premier players who had spent little to no time on the court this season.
Yao Ming hurt his foot in the 2009 playoffs and will most likely miss the entire 2009-10 season.
Tracy McGrady, who was traded to the New York Knicks on Thursday, sat out all but six games this season following microfracture surgery on his left knee.
According to ESPN.com, before McGrady, Carl Landry and Joey Dorsey were traded Thursday, the Rockets had a payroll of $71.7 million. McGrady’s contract alone is worth $22.8 million this season — nearly one-third of Houston’s pre-trade payroll.
It’s unclear whether the Rockets are one of the teams losing money, but contracts guaranteed to injured players such as McGrady don’t help.
The Rockets are not the only team to make a wayward deal.
The Knicks had a pre-trade payroll of $82.8 million, according to ESPN.com.
For all of its spending, the Knicks front office has assembled a team that has won only 19 games this year — tied for seventh worst in the league.
With the cost of going to an NBA game increasing and attendance on the decline, the league has put itself in a precarious position.
That being said, it is the owners who agreed to the terms of these athletes’ contracts; they have no one to blame for the league’s financial situation but themselves.
“We’ve shown the players the facts, and our current level of revenue devoted to player salaries is too high,” Stern said in his address.
It’s not a player’s fault when he’s getting paid by his owner to sit at home and watch games instead of play in them.
Other teams are bound to make mistakes and sign players to outlandish contracts.
If there is a work stoppage after the end of next season, the owners have no business blaming the players for it.
Harold Arnold is a business senior and may be reached at [email protected]
