2011 NBA lockout
Kevin Chu
Background
The previous Collective Bargaining
Agreement signed on July 2005 was set to
expire on July 2011.
 Did not want a repeat of the 1998-99
lockout.
 Negotiations on a new CBA began in early
2011.
 The owners and National Basketball Players
Association (NBPA) could not agree on the
split of Basketball-Related Income and how
the salary cap should be implemented.

Timeline

July 1: The lockout begins

September 23: The NBA canceled training camp, which was
to begin October 3, and the first week of preseason games,
which were to run October 9 through 15.

October 4: The NBA canceled the remainder of the
preseason.

October 10: The first two weeks of the regular season
canceled.

October 28: All games through November 30 canceled.
Timeline

November 14: The NBPA dissolves labor union into
a trade association.

November 15: The NBA canceled all games through
December 15. Players filed antitrust lawsuits against the
NBA in California and Minnesota federal courts.

November 26: The NBA owners and players reached a
tentative agreement to end the lockout.
Timeline

December 1: The NBPA re-formed as a union.

December 8: The new CBA is ratified, officially ending
the lockout.

December 25: The first game of the season starts.
Points of Contention
There were many provisions in the new
CBA
 I picked 6 points to show the owners and
player’s disagreements about the CBA.
1. Ending the lockout
2. Split of Basketball Related Income
3. The Salary Cap
4. The Luxury Tax
5. An Amnesty Clause
6. The Mid-Level Exception

Ending the Lockout
Although both sides wanted to end the
lockout, the players were more pressured
for the lockout to end
 For most players, their NBA salary is their
only source of income. The Owners are
all investors and real estate moguls who
have other sources of income.
 Owners: 10
 NBPA: 15

Split of Basketball Related Income
Under the previous CBA, income was split
57-43 between the players and owners.
 The owners claimed that the league lost 300
million last year and 22 out of the 30 teams
failed to make profit.
 Owners wanted the players to only have
47%. The players compromised with 53% but
the owners would not agree.
 Owners: 35
 NBPA: 30

The Salary Cap
Team Owners wanted a hard salary cap in
order to reduce player salaries and to
close to close the gap between rich and
poor teams.
 Players wanted a soft cap so they could
get more money. The players were very
adamant that there would be only a soft
cap.
 Owners: 20
 NBPA: 25

Luxury Tax
Team Owners wanted to have a higher
luxury tax to stop rich teams from
overspending and overpaying players.
 Players wanted a lesser luxury tax so rich
teams would be willing to overpay. The
players believed that a harsh luxury tax
was essentially the same thing as a hard
cap.
 Owners: 20
 NBPA: 20

Amnesty Clause
Team owners wanted to be able a player
and remove his contract from the team
salary.
 Players did not care too much and they
would still be paid.
 Owners: 10
 NBPA: 0

Mid-Level Exception(MLE)
Teams over the salary cap could still sign
players will a Mid-Level Exception currently
valued at $5 million.
 Owners wanted to lower the MLE to $2.5
million and only allow it to be used every
other year.
 Players wanted to keep the $5 million MLE
the old CBA had it at.
 Owners: 5
 NBPA: 10

Owners NBPA
Ratify the Agreement
10
15
Basketball Related Income Split
35
30
Salary Cap
20
25
Luxury Tax
20
20
Amnesty CLause
10
0
Mid-Level Exception
5
10
TOTAL
65
50
AW protocol
The Owners original AW without adding in the
luxury tax add up to 45 while the Player’s AW add
up to 50. So the Owners get a harsher luxury tax
and it becomes 65-50. We will say the fluid item is
the BRI, rather than the luxury tax.
65-(35x)=50+(30x)
 X=3/13
 So each side gets ~57.

Compare to Real Life
Mostly consistent with what happened in
real life.
 All of the arguments were fluid so even if
they “won” it would not be a complete
victory.
Ex. The players wanted the keep the $5 million mid-level

exception, but the MLE in the new contract varied
between $3 to $5 million depending on the current team
salary.
Impacts of the NBA Lockout
Estimated $1 billion in lost television
advertisement revenue.
 Estimated 400 NBA related jobs were laid
off.
 Sports bars and other sports related venues
lost customers.
 The season was shortened to 66 games with
less time to rest in between games. Many
team trainers and doctors said that this led
to an increased frequency of injury.
