Spurs of the Moment

Let’s be honest, there are few among us who actually care what’s in the new collective bargaining agreement; we’re just happy it’s in place. That said, if you really care about the league, you should care about the new CBA, because the details of the deal will determine how the league functions for at least the next six years. It’s no secret that Spurs owner Peter Holt participated heavily in discussions throughout much of the negotiating process. Holt is among the least wealthy owners in the league (which makes his aggressive spending these past couple years all the more commendable), and the hard-line stance taken by the league in negotiations was largely on behalf of small market owners like Holt. Dan Gilbert of the Cleveland Cavaliers and Michael Jordan of the Charlotte Bobcats, for example, were also prominent, hard-line voices in the discussions. As such, it should come as little surprise that, though not quite as extensively as the Holts, Gilberts, or Jordans of the league may have wanted, the new CBA is undoubtedly a victory for the owners, and for small market franchises like our San Antonio Spurs. So how, exactly, will this new agreement effect our ball club? Let’s take a look.

Basketball Related Income:

The biggest obstacle in negotiations was the division amongst players and owners of the so-called BRI, or basketball related income. To keep it simple, look at BRI as basically just the I; the term essentially encompasses nearly all of the income the league generates in a given season. This division of revenue was especially complicated by two factors. First of all, the league famously argued from the onset of negotiations that, over the last three years combined, the owners collectively lost over a billion dollars. These losses were the impetus for the hard-line stance taken by the league. In the eyes of the owners, the new CBA had to invoke drastic change in order to restore conditions of profitability. Secondly, the last CBA gave players 57 percent of the BRI. Basically, last time around the players negotiated one hell of a deal, which meant they would have to make some serious concessions for the owners to be happy. Unfortunately for the players, this is exactly what happened. Over the course of the new CBA, players and owners will split revenues more or less right down the middle, a change that should certainly see more teams out of the red and more teams with money in their pockets.

How this affects the Spurs:

For smaller market clubs like San Antonio, this is just what the doctor ordered. Barring gross mismanagement or a drastically serious backlash from fans, the post-lockout landscape should allow every team to make money, meaning less financially flush clubs, like our Spurs, will have the ability to spend, and no excuses not to.

The Luxury Tax:

The league and the owners desperately wanted a hard cap in the new CBA, but ultimately the owner’s were not able to fully protect themselves from, well, themselves ($80 million over five years for Rudy Gay, for example). Settling instead for substantially harsher luxury tax penalties for those who spend beyond the salary cap, the owners will now seriously have to think twice when considering spending past what the league allows, while the players can claim a victory which allows for the possibility of teams contributing towards player salaries past a certain fixed point. It is important to note, though, that the new luxury tax rates won’t kick in for three years.

How this affects the Spurs:

In the long term, this news is fantastic for small market teams like San Antonio who can’t afford to keep up year after year with the overspending of rich, large market clubs like the Mavericks or Knicks.

The Amnesty Clause:

The buzz around negotiations was that Holt was amongst those leading the charge for the inclusion of an amnesty clause in the new CBA. The amnesty clause will function as follows; a one-time, take-it-or-leave-it option of the teams to waive any player on their roster at any point in the life of the CBA and have that player’s salary not count against the team’s salary cap. The player must still be paid, of course, but if they are resigned by another team, the team that originally waived them will only be responsible for the remaining difference between their old and new contracts. Lastly, only contracts signed prior to the lockout are eligible to be amnestied.

How this affects the Spurs:

If reports are true, and they certainly appear to be, the Spurs will be using their amnesty on Friday on Richard Jefferson, jettisoning the small forward after two terribly disappointing years in silver and black.

-Contributed by Mason Pitluk