Derek Fisher urges NBA teams to discuss revenue sharing – Lockout Update
The President of the National Basketball Players Association, Derek Fisher has once again urged the NBA owners to develop a revenue sharing formula. The Los Angeles Lakers point guard believes that revenue sharing is the way forward
to bring a balance between smaller market NBA sides and those who operate in the bigger markets.
The NBA players have consistently demanded that the league should develop such a formula and have brought that on to the table during the NBA labour dispute negotiations. NBA Commissioner David Stern agrees that greater revenue
sharing in the NBA is necessary, but he has refused to discuss that with the players. Stern wants that set aside for now and argues that the owners can sort it out themselves.
In a letter written to the NBA players by Fisher to reprise them of the situation regarding the negotiations over the new Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA), and to try and boost morale, Fisher took up the matter of revenue
sharing again.
Fisher believed that if the NBA players can sacrifice for one another, so should the owners.
"The same way our max players sacrificed for the larger body of players in the last collective bargaining agreement, it's time for our large market teams to share some of the wealth with each other.”
David Stern has claimed that the league suffered huge losses last season, as much as $300 million. The NBA have made that as the pretext to their demands for huge financial sacrifices from the players. For one, the players do not
trust the figures mentioned by the cunning NBA Commissioner and for another, they argue that the burden should not be put on the shoulders of players alone, and revenue sharing should be broadened to soften the blow.
“We continue to remain firm on the idea that not all of the purported loss figures should be made up solely through the reduction of player salaries," Fisher said.
That is the reason why the players want the revenue sharing as part of CBA discussions. They believe that they should be apprised of the situation and it will be only then, that the two sides can come up with a solution together.
The NBA though, seems determined to keep the players in the dark.
"We still haven't been presented with any real specifics or proposals that include what a new revenue sharing model will look like," revealed Fisher.
Derek’s words have so far not been paid much heed to, by Stern and the owners and they have refused to negotiate on the matter. However, if they do bring it on the table, it would result in some much needed transparency and will
build trust between the two sides, something that is very much required, given the short time left before games will have to be cancelled.
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