Scorecard

Matt Yglesias: Owners Won the NBA Deal

With tensions flaring in the Middle East and the euro on the brink, pundits nearly missed news that the NBA reached a deal to end the lockout that cancelled the first six weeks of the season. But Slate business blogger Matt Yglesias took note, and says the deal can’t be seen as anything but a win for management. “The most fundamental issue at stake is that under the old labor agreement, owners committed to paying out 57 percent of Basketball-Related Income in the form of player salaries. Under the new deal, the owners will only pay 50 percent out.” The players found themselves with the short end of the stick because the cancelled season hurts their income far more than the owners’s. “Even with a strong and united labor union the players have very few cards in these negotiations.”