NBA Salary Floor

Sep 26, 2003 11:13 AM
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Not only does the NBA have a salary cap, whereby there is a (soft) upper limit to how much teams can pay their players, but there is a lower limit too.

In an article where he argues that the Utah Jazz might be historically bad this year, he mentions that the team is below the minimum spending:
Currently, the Jazz has a grand total of $29 million committed to salaries, and it still is almost $13 million under the salary cap. Enough room to make another move, you say? Wrong. The Jazz do not have to get to the NBA's minimum salary of $32 million until the END of the season, not before the season starts. So theoretically they can sit right where they are until April.
What a weird situation.

Comments: NBA Salary Floor

People scoff at the idea of "professional" video game players who get paid a lot of money to play.

Well, I scoff at the idea of anyone being paid ridiculous amounts to play *any* game, be it Quake or Basketball.

Posted by: O'dell on September 26, 2003 6:50 PM | permalink

I don't scoff at either.

If having Shaquille O'Neal play for them makes the LA Lakers a ton of money (ticket sales, advertising, merchandising), why shouldn't he get paid that much more?

Yes, I know it is an unusal market in sports (e.g. it's sort of like a cartel with the artificial scarcity and teams being part of a league). Plus it's hard to tell exactly how one player's performance correlates with team revenue. And the contracts are rarely incentives-based.

But why is it different from any other form of entertainment? More people will buy those $8 tickets if Julia Roberts is in a movie. More people will buy those $45 tickets if Allen Iverson is on the court.

Posted by: Joe Grossberg on September 26, 2003 8:15 PM | permalink

Oh, I feel the same way about movie stars and musicians. Lots of talented people never make wind up in the NBA or get hyped by Hollywood or some record company.

Sports teams try to get great players, but as far as music and movies are concerned, they certainly don't seem to try too hard to get the cream of the crop. In cases like Britney Speares, it comes down to what you said - making money.

Posted by: O'dell on September 27, 2003 3:38 AM | permalink

I am confused. Why would you wait to spend money you are going to be forced to spend? You gain nothing by being extra sucky.

Why do they have a spending floor anyway? That is horribly stupid.

Posted by: Daniel Grossberg on September 27, 2003 3:59 PM | permalink

Why wait? They might want to wait for a better opportunity to come along -- i.e. see who's worth trading for after this season starts.

Why a minimum? Probably something that the Players Union wanted tacked on to the collective bargaining agreement. It certainly benefits the players, as a group.

Posted by: Joe Grossberg on September 28, 2003 3:52 PM | permalink

No more comments! Either someone has violated Godwin's Law, I'm tired of the discussion or, most likely, the ten-week window has closed. You can, however, contact me through email.