Connect with us

Sports

The NBA media rights deal could bring about a once-impossible feat: the $100 million salary

Published

on

The NBA media rights deal could bring about a once-impossible feat: the $100 million salary

As the NBA closes in on a new media rights deal, much of the attention has been on what it means for the league and its teams. But there’s also another beneficiary of the set of deals that will reportedly pay the league an average of $6.9 billion over 11 years: the players.

Those new deals — whether they end up with Warner Bros. Discovery, NBC or Amazon as partners alongside Disney – should more than double the current deals, which are slated to pay the league roughly $3 billion next season in the final year of its contracts with Disney and Warner Bros. Discovery. While not guaranteed, the expectation among team executives is that the salary cap will rise the maximum allowable 10 percent over the first seasons under the new media landscape, which will begin with the 2025-26 season.

The amount of money set to pour into the league will likely bring about what surely was once considered an impossible feat: the $100 million salary.

NBA players are already amassing wealth like never before. Any player part of the 2022 draft class will have the opportunity to make more than $1 billion alone in NBA contracts, before any endorsements or sponsorship deals. If the cap keeps rising as projected, a player might be able to make that much over the course of two contracts in his prime. Jaylen Brown’s record-setting contract, which could be worth as much as $304 million, could look small by comparison.

The NBA could have its first $100 million salary by the 2032-33 season. That’s assuming a salary cap of $141 million next season, as the league currently projects, and then 10 percent cap-raises after that.

Advertisement

Under that forecast, the salary cap would hit more than $302 million, which would allow a number of players to cross the $100 million threshold. For example, a player in the first year of his supermax contract, which pays 35 percent of the cap, could make as much as $105.79 million during the 2032-33 season — that’s double the league-high $51.9 million Stephen Curry made this season. A player in the second year of a supermax contract that kicked in the season before could make $103.86 million that season. A player in the third year of a supermax contract that began during the 2030-31 season could make $101.41 million.

The size of the contracts will be eye-popping. A five-year supermax deal that begins with the 2030-31 season will be worth $507 million under these estimates. One that begins the next season will be worth $557.78 million. The supermax that kicks in during the 2032-33 season would be valued at $613.56 million.

Projected NBA Supermax Contracts

Season Projected Cap 35% Max Salary Supermax Deal

24-25

$141 million

Advertisement

$49.35 million

$286.23 million

25-26

$155.1 million

$54.29 million

Advertisement

$314.85 million

26-27

$170.61 million

$59.71 million

$346.34 million

Advertisement

27-28

$187.671 million

$65.68 million

$380.97 million

28-29

Advertisement

$206.438 million

$72.25 million

$419.07 million

29-30

$227.082 million

Advertisement

$79.48 million

$460.98 million

30-31

$249.79 million

$87.43 million

Advertisement

$507.07 million

31-32

$274.769 million

$96.17 million

$557.78 million

Advertisement

32-33

$302.246 million

$105.79 million

$613.56 million

Those numbers could be overly generous, of course. Maybe the cap doesn’t go up 10 percent every year, and salaries don’t go up so quickly. While the national media rights could account for roughly 30-40 percent of all basketball revenue when they kick in, the local media revenue seems set to dip — and who knows what other issues might pop up.

Advertisement

That timetable might also be too slow. Either the NBA or the NBPA could opt-out of this CBA by Oct. 15, 2028 and that would trigger a new CBA for the 2029-30 season. What if that CBA doesn’t have cap-smoothing and has no ceiling on how quickly the cap can go up? Or, it gets rid of the rule that sets max salaries at 35 percent of the cap? Get ready for some big numbers.

NBA commissioner Adam Silver and president of global content & media distribution Bill Koenig have surely made a lot of people happy. The league’s still-new collective bargaining agreement was written with a new media rights deal in mind and this should allow the NBA to have labor peace through the end of this CBA, set to run until 2030 if no one opts out. There was always a small chance that the NBA would ever have to execute the opt-out clause it has in the current CBA that lets it get out of the agreement if its media income fell to a certain threshold compared to what it took in during the 2022-23 season. But with such large numbers on the horizon, the league — and its players — is approaching even loftier wealth.


Since it’s never too early to talk about the offseason — at least that’s what every TV segment about the NBA tells me — it’s a good time to remind everyone about this summer’s hottest read: the CBA.

Some of the most restrictive parts of the new CBA are set to come in next season and the new cap year starts on July 1. They will color how teams act this summer.

Starting with the first day after the just-concluded regular season, teams above the first apron ($172.346 million) can only trade for a player who makes up to the value of the salary they are dealing away. Any traded player exceptions first-apron teams generated over the past year will no longer be usable unless they get back down below the apron.

Advertisement

Teams above the second apron ($182.794 million) can no longer aggregate player salaries — that provision kicked in with the end of the regular season. Those teams cannot send out their own player in a sign-and-trade, and they can’t send cash in a trade.

The “frozen pick” rule will go into effect next season. If a team is above the second apron on the last day of the 2024-25 regular season, then its first-round pick seven years out (2032) cannot be traded. If that team is above the second apron in two of the next four years, that frozen pick will also be moved to the end of the first round in that year’s draft. A team can unfreeze its pick if it is below or equal to the second apron in at least three of the next four years.

If a team does one of the things listed above, then it will be hard-capped at the apron threshold it has yet to cross.

If a team pulls off a trade between the end of the regular season and the start of the new cap year with a maneuver that is not allowed for teams above the first or second apron, then that team will be hard-capped for the rest of the current salary cap year and the next one. But the new CBA does allow teams some flexibility because that doesn’t kick in until after the 2024-25 regular season; teams can still have their total salaries go above an apron level between the end of the 2023-24 regular season through June 30, 2024 without being hard-capped.

There is also a new concern for teams that don’t hit the salary floor. Starting with the 2024-25 season, teams that don’t hit the floor won’t receive any of the money paid out to non-taxpaying teams.

Advertisement

Beginning on July 1, teams will now be able to use the non-taxpayer midlevel, the room midlevel or the biannual exception to trade for one or multiple players or acquire a player on a waiver claim (the player’s contract can’t exceed the max length allowed by that exception). The exception won’t be able to get aggregated.

Teams will also get more latitude with extend-and-trade contracts. On July 1, those will be able to go up to a total of four years and 120 percent of the prior salary.

(Photo: David Berding / Getty Images)

Sports

Phillies manager Rob Thomson's screaming match with umpire leads to ejection in bizarre scene

Published

on

Phillies manager Rob Thomson's screaming match with umpire leads to ejection in bizarre scene

Join Fox News for access to this content

Plus special access to select articles and other premium content with your account – free of charge.

By entering your email and pushing continue, you are agreeing to Fox News’ Terms of Use and Privacy Policy, which includes our Notice of Financial Incentive.

Please enter a valid email address.

Having trouble? Click here.

Philadelphia Phillies manager Rob Thomson and umpire Mike Estabrook got into a wild screaming match that resulted in an ejection on Father’s Day against the Baltimore Orioles. 

The Phillies weren’t doing well in the top of the sixth inning as the O’s held an 8-2 lead at their home, Camden Yards, and it didn’t help matters when Estabrook reversed a call initially ruled a hit-by-pitch on the Phillies’ Garrett Stubbs. He did so after conversing with his fellow umpires on the field.

Advertisement

Before Estabrook reversed the call and brought Stubbs back to home plate, Thomson was already fuming about his strike zone behind home plate on the day. 

Home plate umpire Mike Estabrook ejects Philadelphia Phillies manager Rob Thomson during the sixth inning against the Baltimore Orioles at Oriole Park at Camden Yards. (Gregory Fisher-USA TODAY Sports)

When Thomson emerged from the dugout and wanted an explanation from Estabrook, that’s when things got heated. The tipping point came when Thomson, who was clearly barking at Estabrook, pointed his finger at him and just missed poking him in the chest as he yelled. 

VIEW THE MOMENT ON X

Advertisement

That resulted in Estabrook turning around fast and tossing Thomson from the game, which sent the veteran manager into a frenzy. 

But what we normally see in these moments is the manager letting off steam and the umpire simply taking it. Estabrook thought differently as he started to give it right back to Thomson in a wild scene.

Mike Estabrook throws out Rob Thomson

Home plate umpire Mike Estabrook ejects Philadelphia Phillies manager Rob Thomson during the sixth inning against the Baltimore Orioles at Oriole Park at Camden Yards. (Gregory Fisher-USA TODAY Sports)

Umpire Laz Diaz let the argument unfold a bit before stepping in and sending Thomson to the clubhouse.

After things settled down, the play was brought to a replay review, and Estabrook bringing Stubbs back to hit was the right call because the ball did not hit him.

The Phillies went on to lose, 8-3, which marked their fourth loss in the last six games.

Advertisement
Rob Thomson and Mike Estabrook yell

Home plate umpire Mike Estabrook argues with Philadelphia Phillies manager Rob Thomson during the sixth inning against the Baltimore Orioles at Oriole Park at Camden Yards. (Gregory Fisher-USA TODAY Sports)

Still, the Phillies own the best record in the National League even with the loss. They’re 47-24 on the season, though they’ve been worse on the road than at home, owning a 20-14 record in away games. 

Follow Fox News Digital’s sports coverage on X and subscribe to the Fox News Sports Huddle newsletter.

Advertisement
Continue Reading

Sports

Mookie Betts to miss several weeks after sustaining hand fracture in Dodgers' win

Published

on

Mookie Betts to miss several weeks after sustaining hand fracture in Dodgers' win

The good vibes derived from Tyler Glasnow’s dominant seven-inning start and Shohei Ohtani’s two-homer game were shattered in the seventh inning on Sunday when a 98-mph fastball struck the back of the left hand of Dodgers shortstop Mookie Betts, who writhed on the ground for a few minutes before coming out of the game.

The Dodgers went on to defeat the Kansas City Royals 3-0 in front of a sellout crowd of 52,789 at Dodger Stadium, but they lost their dynamic leadoff man in the process — X-rays showed that Betts suffered a broken bone in his left hand, and though he won’t need surgery, he will be sidelined for several weeks, if not months.

“It’s a big blow, it is,” manager Dave Roberts said. “I feel really bad for Mookie. He was having an MVP season. It’s very unfortunate, but you’ve got to move on, and that’s what we’re going to do. We’re going to be fine. We have really good players.”

Mookie Betts is hit by a pitch during the seventh inning Sunday against the Royals at Dodger Stadium.

(Mark J. Terrill / Associated Press)

Advertisement
Mookie Betts, left, writhes on the ground after being hit by a pitch as manager Dave Roberts and a team trainer tend to him.

Mookie Betts, left, writhes on the ground after being hit by a pitch as manager Dave Roberts and a team trainer tend to him during the seventh inning Sunday.

(Mark J. Terrill / Associated Press)

Betts, who is batting .304 with an .893 on-base-plus-slugging percentage, 10 homers, 16 doubles, 40 RBIs and 50 runs, had a 1-and-2 count when he could not get out of the way of Royals reliever Dan Altavilla’s up-and-in heater. The ball hit Betts on the back of the left hand, which Betts clutched as he fell to the ground.

“I think that’s the first time I got hit in the hand, so I wasn’t sure [how bad it was],” Betts said after the game, his left hand wrapped. “I just went numb, and it hurt. Unfortunately, it’s broken. There’s nothing we can really do now.”

Advertisement

Betts did not travel with the team to Denver on Sunday night. He will be examined by Dr. Steven Shin, a hand specialist, on Monday.

“What’s next? I’m honestly not sure,” Betts said. “Obviously, I’ll be watching the boys, cheering them on, but other than that, it’s just rest, maybe use it as a mental break, be ready to go whenever it heals up.”

Betts moved from right field to second base over the winter and from second base to shortstop because of Gavin Lux’s throwing woes in early March.

The Dodgers have an excellent defensive option at shortstop in Miguel Rojas, but Rojas is nowhere near the hitter Betts is, and he has been slowed this season by leg injuries that prevent him from playing every day.

Shohei Ohtani hits a solo home run off Royals pitcher Brady Singer in the third inning Sunday at Dodger Stadium.

Shohei Ohtani hits a solo home run off Royals pitcher Brady Singer in the third inning Sunday at Dodger Stadium.

(Mark J. Terrill / Associated Press)

Advertisement

Roberts said utility man Kiké Hernández will also be used at shortstop. The team will recall left fielder Miguel Vargas from triple-A Oklahoma City to replace Betts on the roster. Ohtani will likely be moved to the leadoff spot in the order.

“It’s very tough to see as a teammate,” Ohtani, speaking through an interpreter, said of Betts. “He’s obviously a very important part of the team. If he’s out for some time, it’s really up to the rest of the team to pick him up.”

The Betts injury, which came on the same day the Dodgers put pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto on the 15-day injured list because of a rotator-cuff strain, put a damper on an otherwise successful afternoon for the Dodgers.

Glasnow allowed three hits, striking out nine and walking one, over seven scoreless innings, and Ohtani and Freddie Freeman powered the offense with solo home runs.

Advertisement

Setup man Daniel Hudson struck out two of three batters in a scoreless eighth inning, and closer Evan Phillips threw a scoreless ninth for his 10th save.

Glasnow gave the Dodgers much-needed length after the team employed a “bullpen game” on Thursday night against the Texas Rangers and were forced into another bullpen game when Yamamoto left Saturday night’s start against the Royals after two innings because of injury.

“I definitely knew I had to be efficient and try to fill up the zone,” said Glasnow, who improved to 7-5 with a 3.00 ERA in 15 starts. “I just tried to get ahead, mix up my pitches a bit more, not be so heavily reliant on the fastball, mix in the two-seamer, and it worked out today.”

Glasnow’s only real trouble came in the fourth, when Bobby Witt Jr. reached on a one-out infield single and Vinnie Pasquantino walked. He escaped the jam by striking out Salvador Perez with an 83-mph curve in the dirt and getting Adam Frazier to ground out to Betts, who ranged to the second-base side of the bag for Frazier’s grounder.

Dodgers starting pitcher Tyler Glasnow delivers during the first inning Sunday.

Dodgers starting pitcher Tyler Glasnow delivers during the first inning Sunday.

(Mark J. Terrill / Associated Press)

Advertisement

“He was absolutely fantastic,” Ohtani said of Glasnow. “Really, no threats throughout the game.”

Glasnow needed only 85 pitches, 62 of them strikes, to complete seven innings. He leaned heavily on his four-seam fastball, which averaged 96.0 mph, and an 83-mph curve that he used to induce eight of his 15 swinging strikes. He also got five called strikes with the curve.

“I’ve been able to land it for strikes the last couple of starts,” Glasnow said of his big breaking ball. “I’ve made some mechanical adjustments to try to keep it in the zone as opposed to just always trying to strike out guys with it.”

Glasnow’s third pitch is usually an 89-mph slider that he threw 15 times on Sunday, but he also threw a 96.8-mph two-seam sinker 15 times on Sunday after throwing it only 64 times in his first 14 starts.

Advertisement

“It’s basically just a heater, so it’s not like you have to learn a new pitch, and I think it gets me behind my four-seamer, too,” Glasnow said. “I’ve been a lot more comfortable throwing it kind of up and in to righties, and today to a lefty. I’m just trying to mix it in a little bit more to not be so predictable.”

Ohtani gave the Dodgers a 1-0 lead when he “used the big part of the field,” as Roberts likes to say, crushing a 451-foot solo home run — his second-longest of the season — to left-center field off Royals right-hander Brady Singer in the third inning.

Ohtani had been “getting a little too rotational” in his swing over the past week, Roberts said, causing him to pull off pitches early and hit too many ground balls to the right side, but he stayed on Singer’s 93-mph sinker for his 18th homer of the season, a laser that left his bat at 114.3 mph.

“That swing he took for that homer to left-center, that’s as good a swing as I’ve ever seen,” Roberts said. “When he does things the right way, gets his pitch, uses the big part of the field, it’s pretty special.”

Advertisement

Ohtani then crushed an 80-mph first-pitch slider from Singer over the right-field wall to lead off the sixth inning for his 19th homer of the season and 18th multiple-homer game of his career, this shot leaving his bat at 110.7 mph and traveling 400 feet.

Freeman followed with his 10th homer of the season, driving a 2-and-0 slider from Singer 401 feet to right-center field for a 3-0 Dodgers lead.

“That last homer was a slider down below,” Roberts said of Ohtani, “and for him to hit it like that instead of pulling it foul or hitting on the ground speaks to him seeing the ball better.”

Advertisement
Continue Reading

Sports

Angel Reese defends hitting Caitlin Clark in head, resulting in flagrant foul: 'It's a basketball play'

Published

on

Angel Reese defends hitting Caitlin Clark in head, resulting in flagrant foul: 'It's a basketball play'

Join Fox News for access to this content

Plus special access to select articles and other premium content with your account – free of charge.

By entering your email and pushing continue, you are agreeing to Fox News’ Terms of Use and Privacy Policy, which includes our Notice of Financial Incentive.

Please enter a valid email address.

Having trouble? Click here.

The Chicago Sky-Indiana Fever rematch was a highly anticipated game Sunday afternoon with Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese pitted against each other in another chapter of their WNBA journey. 

And things got a bit testy when Reese whacked Clark in the head on a block attempt in the third quarter of the Fever’s 91-83 victory, resulting in a flagrant foul.

Advertisement

Reese was asked about the flagrant foul by a reporter after the game, and she cut him off quickly.

Angel Reese, left, of the Chicago Sky reacts after fouling Caitlin Clark, right, of the Indiana Fever during the second half at Gainbridge Fieldhouse June 16, 2024, in Indianapolis. (Emilee Chinn/Getty Images)

“A basketball play. It was a basketball play,” Reese said. “I can’t control the refs. They affected the game obviously a lot tonight.”

Reese was adamant officials were not calling the same game on both ends of the floor. The Sky were called for 21 personal fouls as a team, while the Fever were whistled for 17. Reese and fellow rookie Kamilla Cardoso each had five fouls. 

Advertisement

VIEW THE REESE BLOCK ATTEMPT ON X

“I think we went up really strong a lot of times, and we didn’t get a lot of calls,” Reese explained when asked about her and Cardoso’s performances. “Going back and looking at the film, I’ve seen a lot of calls that weren’t made. I guess some people got a special whistle. But just being able to play hard as best as we can.”

CAITLIN CLARK UNBOTHERED BY PEOPLE USING HER NAME IN CULTURE WARS: ‘BASKETBALL’S MY JOB’

It’s unclear who Reese was referring to when talking about the “special whistle.”

As for Clark’s thoughts on the flagrant foul, she didn’t have anything bad to say about Reese. She agreed the physicality wasn’t anything malicious. 

Advertisement
Caitlin Clark drives to the basket

Caitlin Clark, left, of the Indiana Fever drives to the basket against Marina Mabrey, right, of the Chicago Sky during the first half at Gainbridge Fieldhouse June 16, 2024, in Indianapolis. (Emilee Chinn/Getty Images)

“What’s going through my mind is, ‘I need to make these two free throws,’” Clark said when a reporter asked her thoughts immediately after the foul. “That’s all I’m thinking about. Just a part of basketball. It is what it is. Just trying to make a play on the ball and get the block. It happens.”

Clark continued by lauding Reese’s competitive spirit and using her platform to promote the game.

“I think it’s just the emotion and passion we play with,” Clark said. “I think people love to see that, and I think that’s maybe not something that was always appreciated in women’s sports. And it should be. That’s what makes it fun. We’re competitors. That’s the way the game should be. It’s going to get feisty, it’s going to get physical. But, at the end of the day, both of us are trying to win.

“I think what she’s done with her platform has been absolutely incredible, and she has an entire fan base that’s supported her for what she did at Maryland and LSU. Obviously, I played her a very long time, and she’s been a tremendous player. So, it’s getting to compete against [her], and I think it’s been really good for the game. And people love to see great matchups. 

“But, also, at the same time, people tune in for these matchups, but then they get to see how amazing these teams are, and they find new players to support. And continue to come back for them, too. So, I think that’s another benefit of it, honestly.”

Advertisement
Angel Reese and Caitlin Clark side by side

Angel Reese defended her block attempt on Caitlin Clark, which resulted in a flagrant foul. (Getty Images)

Fever head coach Christie Sides also believed the “right call was made” by officials on the Reese flagrant. She also alluded to flagrant fouls not being called, which we’ve seen recently with the Chennedy Carter shove on Clark. It was later upgraded to a flagrant foul. But during their previous matchup, it was a common foul. 

“I was really proud of how they all kept their composure,” Sides said. “The right call was made in that moment — flagrant-1, two free throws and the ball. Just make the right call in those moments, and we can move forward. When we don’t make the right call in those moments, that’s when there’s a problem. 

“They made the right call tonight.”

Follow Fox News Digital’s sports coverage on X, and subscribe to the Fox News Sports Huddle newsletter.

Advertisement

Continue Reading
Advertisement

Trending