The North American professional basketball league NBA and the players’ union NBPA are stuck in their negotiations about the start of the new season and have now extended the deadline for possible termination of the collective agreement (CBA) by one week. Both sides have until November 6th to withdraw from the agreement. The aim is to adapt them.
The league officials want to start the new season on December 22nd and are planning 72 instead of the usual 82 main round games and playoffs. In this case, the season could end in time for the Olympic Games in Tokyo (July 23 to August 8). The NBPA apparently prefers mid-January.
The deadline has been postponed for the fourth time since the start of the corona pandemic. So far, the negotiating partners have not been able to agree on the framework conditions for 2020/21. According to “ESPN” the league fears that a season start in January could mean additional loss of income of up to a billion dollars.
According to media reports, the NBA had recently informed the clubs that a potential total loss of 40 percent – around four billion dollars – threatened if the new season were to take place without spectators.
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