NBA players will start having 25% of their salaries withheld on May 15, after the league and National Basketball Players Association agreed to the plan, ESPN reported.
The deal is the first step in a gradual decrease in player salaries if the force majeure provision in the collective bargaining agreement has to be enacted with the cancellation of regular-season games due to the coronavirus crisis
The issue of pay cuts has been a topic ever since the NBA decided to shut down on March 11. There is currently no timetable for the season to restart or a guarantee the NBA will be able to hold any form of playoffs in order to crown a champion, Yahoo reported.
The union has told players it could be June 15 before the fate of the rest of the season is known, sources told ESPN.
The withholding of salary would prevent a scenario where players could go several pay periods with no salary at all if the NBA ends up canceling large parts, or all, of the remainder of the season.
The agreement between the NBA and the union enables the creation of an escrow-like account that can return money to the players should all the remaining regular-season games be played and likewise permits teams to keep a percentage of the funds based on the cancellation of games.
Brian Freeman ✉
Brian Freeman, a Newsmax writer based in Israel, has more than three decades writing and editing about culture and politics for newspapers, online and television.
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