The NBA reportedly is considering enforcing the force majeure provision in the collective bargaining agreement to recoup player salaries for future canceled games due to the coronavirus pandemic.
The league sent a memo to teams Friday informing them that player salaries are expected to be paid on April 1, but “left open the possibility” to withhold pay for the next period on April 15, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.
“As the coronavirus pandemic paralyzes the NBA and nation, the canceled games and loss of revenue are causing the NBA to leave itself financial flexibility based on the force majeure provision (in the CBA),” the report stated.
According to the CBA, force majeure enables the NBA to withhold a portion of player salaries due to catastrophic circumstances such as war, natural disasters and epidemics or pandemic illnesses. ESPN reported players could be docked 1/92.6 of their yearly salary per canceled game based on a force majeure formula of five preseason games, 82 regular season and 5.6 playoff games per team.
Additionally, ESPN’s Bobby Marks, a former Nets executive, reported that NBA players on a payment schedule of 12 installments that began on Nov. 15 will have been paid 90% of their salary through the April 1 payments, but those who elected to be paid over the entire calendar year are still owed a projected 60% of their yearly salary.
The NBA expects to notify teams and players before the April 15 payments are due about the league’s plans, the memo stated. If force majeure is enforced, players still could recoup missed payments if those games are made up if/when play resumes at a later date.
Play was suspended by NBA commissioner Adam Silver on March 11 after Utah Jazz center tested positive for coronavirus. Nine other players have since been confirmed to have contracted COVID-19, including Kevin Durant and three unidentified teammates on the Brooklyn Nets.