Despite suffering some massive financial losses, the NBA is expected to keep the salary cap at about $109 million for the 2020-21 season, according to ESPN insider Bobby Marks.
If so, it will mark the first time the cap isn’t based on the previous season’s basketball-related income (BRI).
“The teams I’ve talked to have said the cap will be no lower than $109 million,” Marks said on The Lowe Post podcast. “That’s what they’ve been assured. It could be $111 million.
“When it comes to 21-22, teams are using $115 million as the number right now. I think that’s potentially going to be higher because I think revenue for ’21 and ’22 gets back to some type of normalcy. And that will certainly have what the league will use as a projection.”
Along with the coronavirus pandemic, the NBA’s fractured relationship with China proved extremely costly, as was the fact fans hadn’t able to attend games since early March. Commissioner Adam Silver recently suggested that 40 percent of the league’s revenue comes from gate receipts.
Keeping the salary cap the same, or close to the same, would also keep teams from having to overhaul the roster to avoid paying hefty tax penalties.
