In addition to the looming CBA negotiations with the players’ association, the NBA was also coming up on the end of their labor agreement with the National Basketball Referees Association. Their current deal was up after next season, and it seems both sides were eager to avoid a fiasco like the NFL’s replacement-refs situation from 2012.
From Yahoo’s Adrian Wojnarowski:The NBA and the National Basketball Referees Association have reached a tentative agreement on a new seven-year deal that will run through 2022, league sources told Yahoo Sports.
The union’s 60-plus referee membership will meet in Chicago on Aug. 13 to vote on final ratification of the contract, sources told Yahoo Sports.
The NBA and the NBRA opened talks with a year left on the existing collective bargaining agreement, and will replace the final season of the current five-year agreement with terms on a new deal, sources told Yahoo Sports. The referee’s new deal will include substantial raises for referees and the staffing of the league’s replay center in Secaucus, N.J., with refs, sources said.
This is good news for everybody. It’s one less headache for the league to potentially deal with as it prepares for a massive new influx of money with the TV contract that kicks in in 2016. Next up, of course, is averting a work stoppage with the players. After the 2016-17 season, either side can opt out of their current collective bargaining agreement, and it’s widely expected that the players will do so. But with the new money coming in, there’s hope that both sides can reach agreement on a new deal and prevent another lockout from happening.