NBA, Players’ Union Extend Collective-Bargaining Agreement Opt-Out Date

The NBA and players’ union have agreed to extend the opt-out date of the current collective-bargaining agreement to Feb. 8, the league announced in a press release.

The previous opt-out date was Dec. 15.

Commissioner Adam Silver is fronting talks for the NBA, with executive director Tamika Tremaglio representing the union. Either side can opt out of the current agreement ahead of its expiration in 2023-24.

Should either opt out by Feb. 8, the current CBA will then expire at the end of June 2023.

NBA and NBPA agree to extend CBA opt-out deadline. pic.twitter.com/SGd2qvILDa

— NBA Communications (@NBAPR) December 14, 2022

At last check, the NBA was pushing for a hard cap, while the union is resisting such an idea.

The league currently allows teams to spend above the cap, though they are fined, or “taxed,” for doing so. A hard cap would prohibit teams from going above a certainly salary for any reason but to re-sign their own players.

Again, this would not be viewed by the players as a favorable arrangement, given it would limit what teams could spend, and therefore, what players can earn in salary.

“There will be a lockout before there’s a hard cap,” a source from the players’ side told Marc Stein of The Stein Line.

Not all 30 team owners are in favor of a hard cap, Stein reported, and the idea at this point could merely be on the league’s wish list — as opposed to a major bargaining point in the next round of collective bargaining.

“In the NBA’s current labor deal with the NBPA, there are only three scenarios in which a team becomes hard-capped: 1. Acquiring a free agent via sign-and-trade; 2. Signing a free agent with the non-taxpayer mid-level exception; 3. Signing a free agent with the bi-annual exception,” Stein wrote.