The NBA has established its labor relations framework for many years to come.
The league and its players reached an agreement early Saturday on a new seven-year collective bargaining agreement, the NBA announced.
It remains to be ratified, but the process should be a formality.
The deal will begin this summer and run until at least the end of the 2028-29 season. Either party may then withdraw; otherwise, it will last until the end of the 2029-30 season.
Among the details, according to a person familiar with the negotiations who spoke to The Associated Press: the in-season tournament commissioner Adam Silver has wanted for years will come true, and players will have to play at least 65 games. to be eligible for major individual awards, such as Most Valuable Player.
The person spoke on condition of anonymity because neither the league nor the National Basketball Players Association has made the details public.
There will also be a second luxury tax tier which, once achieved, will prevent teams from using their mid-tier exception to hire players.
It would also help level the playing field between teams willing to pay a lot in luxury tax and those that are not.
There is no policy change that would allow high school players to be eligible for the NBA draft.
This has been discussed for months, but that won’t change anytime soon – probably not for at least the duration of the new deal.
The current collective bargaining agreement, effective July 1, 2017, included a mutual option for the NBA or NBPA to opt out after six seasons — June 30 of this year.
The parties originally had until December 15 to announce their intention to withdraw, then pushed it back to February 8 and then Friday.
The league and NBPA continued to talk after the deadline expired at midnight, and a deal was announced about three hours later.
The agreement does not end the process, although it is of course a huge step forward.
Owners will vote and players will need to do the same to approve the pact.
Then comes the actual drafting of the document — the most recent agreement was more or less 600 pages.