Early Saturday morning, the National Basketball Association came to a tentative agreement between players and owners on salary, ending a lockout that lasted 149 days and delayed the opening of the basketball season until Christmas day.
Many rejoiced at the news of the end of a lockout that at one point caused the players to attempt to disband their union and file an antitrust lawsuit against the NBA. Under the terms of their agreement, the players will now receive between 49 and 51 percent of basketball-related income, which is contingent on league profitability.
Other fans were not as pleased upon hearing news of this resolution. Many people who work at TD Garden or other NBA arenas around the country have been out of a job for the past 149 days, and all so that basketball players and owners can squeeze a little more cash out of their season.
Businesses that depend on the traffic of basketball fans have suffered as well. According to The Boston Globe, sales have decreased dramatically at The Four’s Grille, a restaurant across from TD Garden, where the Boston Celtics play. Manager Jim Taggart told the Globe that on game day, he would normally quadruple his staff to accommodate the fans, but because of the lockout, he only needs about 10 employees.
“That’s 40 people who weren’t making money and aren’t going out spending money,’’ he told The Globe.
It seems nothing short of unconscionable that these NBA owners have held out for this long at the expense of both basketball-related businesses and local businesses who depend on game day to pay their employees and rent. Many workers are embittered by the whole ordeal because it seems that these multi-millionaires were squabbling for a few extra dollars that they do not need.
On the other hand, we also must keep in mind that the star players on whose salaries we judge the pettiness of the lockout are the fiscal outliers in the situation. According to the NBA, the league’s minimum salary was a little more than $400,000 for the 2010-11 season, and while this is by no means small, it does not seem entirely unreasonable when one examines the bigger picture.
The NBA’s return on Christmas day will undoubtedly be a welcome sight for players as well as businesses, but its extended stall this autumn may have done much more damage than it was worth.
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