NBA Set To Reduce Salaries Of League’s Top Executives

SALT LAKE CITY, Utah – The NBA is set to reduce the salaries of 100 of the league’s top executives according to a tweet from ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski. The news comes as the basketball world continues to adjust to the fallout of the coronavirus pandemic that has sidelined professional sports across the globe.

The NBA had roughly 20 games remaining in its regular season when the league was put on hold as a result of Utah Jazz center Rudy Gobert testing positive for the virus. The league’s closure would be the domino that set in the motion the radical change in lifestyle in all industries across the nation.

Wojnarowski reported that the league officials will see a 20 percent drop in salary for the time being.

The NBA is reducing base salaries by 20 percent of approximately 100 of the league office’s top-earning executives around the world, sources tell ESPN.

— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) March 26, 2020

The league is still hoping to reopen the NBA season at some point during the summer if it is deemed safe in wake of the coronavirus outbreak. With the2020 Tokyo Olympic games now postponed until the summer of 2021, the NBA could have the entire summer to play out its season in one form or another to crown a champion and recover lost revenue.

According to ESPN, the NBA is looking at July 1 as a loose drop-dead date by which the league’s games must return if it hopes to finish the season by Labor Day. If a full season cannot be played, the league has left options on the table to complete the season with an abbreviated postseason schedule, or possibly a tournament-style bracket to finish the year.

The league has yet to institute salary cuts beyond the top executives, though at least one NBA franchise has toyed with the idea. On Monday, the Philadelphia 76ers floated the idea of a 20 percent pay cut to team employees but were met with severe public backlash in light of the ownerships multi-billion-dollar valuation.

Sixers ownership statement to ESPN: ''….After listening to our staff and players, it's clear that was the wrong decision. We have reversed it and will be paying these employees their full salary." https://t.co/0mn1NthccQ

— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) March 24, 2020

Late last week, the Jazz announced that the Larry H. Miller Group of corporations was working with Gobert to set up additional financial assistance and job opportunities to part-time employees that were out of work due to the league’s stoppage.

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