The NBA recently tripled this TV deal money to $2.66 billion annually, so naturally players are demanding that they get paid more. It’s been suggested that salary caps and max contracts should rise, but some even suggest that the idea of a the max contract should altogether disappear. Mavs owner Mark Cuban doesn’t disagree with getting rid of the max contract, but wants a trade-off for the deal. He’s suggesting that players’ salaries no longer be guaranteed.
“If you give up guarantees, it’s a trade-off,” Cuban said, via NBA.com’s Jeff Caplan.
Cuban believes the NBA should move to the NFL model, where there is a salary cap but guaranteed money is not determined by the collective bargaining agreement. NFL teams are free to pay individual players as much as they please, and the portion of the contract that is guaranteed is determined by the player and team.
“It was discussed during the lockout time among owners, but never got anywhere,” Cuban added. “So it was just one of those trial balloons. I’m not offering this as a negotiation, I’m not suggesting it, all I’m saying is that was something we discussed before, and max contracts are always big question, guarantees are always a big question. But we have two years before that’s even an issue, so no point discussing it now.”
Cuban might have a point. In cases such as with Paul George, who was given a max guaranteed contract, only to be devastated by serious injury outside of the NBA, it is something for the owners and players to consider. Naturally, players won’t like not having their money guaranteed, but something has to give in the process of negotiation.
[h/t Larry Brown Sports]