The players’ decision to reject the NBA’s latest offer, disband their union and take their case to court makes sense especially for small-market teams like Atlanta, Charlotte, Indiana, Memphis, Milwaukee, Minnesota, Philadelphia, Sacramento, Portland and Washington, said Associate Professor Larry DeGaris, director of the sports marketing program in UIndy’s School of Business.
“The NBA offer would have allowed most of the small market teams to limp along, but it wasn't a long-term fix of a broken system,” DeGaris said. “I don't think there’s an appreciation of how grim the current financial system is for small-market teams. There’s much more on the line than a percentage point of basketball-related income one way or another.” For a solution that gives every team in the league a chance to be profitable as well as competitive on the court, players will have to make some concessions, and large-market teams such as Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles and New York will have to shoulder more of the league’s financial burden.
“At a minimum, gate receipts should be shared, but I also support some type of system to even out the regional television deals,” DeGaris said. “The Lakers’ deal is huge, for example, and it really puts the entire league’s finances out of balance.”
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