Sports is about money. Everyone can see it during every broadcast. Super Bowl commercials run around a million dollars for one time slot. Sponsorships and product placement run rampant through any game. Money is a huge factor in sports, and the NBA is a prime example.
The owners are to blame for the current NBA lockout. With the proposal of the hard cap and revenue sharing the owners are showing their greed over the whole situation.
The owners are willing to sacrifice the entire season, but the players want to play. With almost half of the NBA franchises’ in financial trouble, it’s interesting to note that by not opening the doors to arenas, some NBA owners may actually lose less money.
The owners language during negotiations is not in good faith. Based on what we fans have heard, the ultimatums and extremes being thrown at the players is not helping the cause.
The owners are fully prepared to not have a season and consistently threatening to cancel games gives them extreme leverage over the players. The owners are in full command of the entire situation.
The owners need to realize that the players are the ones doing the actual work. The players deserve more of the revenue the teams are taking in. On the contrary the demands of the players also shows they are mostly in the game for the money. The owners have proposed a 50/50 split of revenue, but I am not sure if that ultimatum is fair.
I also believe that at some point the players will budge because of the realization that they are losing salary by the day. The owners will also realize that they are losing money, and ultimately fans.
With the NBA season not occurring hockey and college basketball are receiving more and more coverage. This coverage on major news outlets will eventually take NBA fans and convert them to college basketball fans. The fans should come first, but both sides are blind to the people who pay their tickets.
I also believe that players should be allowed to pursue other options. As much as some people may think they are greedy, they also play because they love the game. The owners are depriving the players of doing what they love, and now the players are pursuing other options.
I’d love to see Shaq wrestle at WrestleMania or see Lebron James play football. If the NBA has no season, things may get interesting.