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NBA, NBPA agree to reduce players’ salaries beginning May 15 in an event of permanent season cancellation

With the season still on hold due to the coronavirus pandemic, the National Basketball Players Association and the NBA have agreed to withhold 25% of the players’ paychecks.

The Sixers' Joel Embiid (21), Ben Simmons (25) and the rest of the NBA's players will have 25% taken out of their remaining salaries beginning on May 15.
The Sixers' Joel Embiid (21), Ben Simmons (25) and the rest of the NBA's players will have 25% taken out of their remaining salaries beginning on May 15.Read more / File Photograph
    by Keith Pompey
    Updated 
    Published 

The long-discussed subject of salary reduction for NBA players is about to take place.

The National Basketball Players Association and the NBA have agreed to withhold 25% of the players’ paychecks beginning on May 15 in the event of a permanent cancellation of regular season or playoff games due to the coronavirus pandemic.

The players will receive their full paychecks on May 1.

There had been some uncertainty over whether players would get their full amount on Wednesday’s pay date since they are not playing amid the coronavirus pandemic. Owners are not obligated to pay the full amount because of an emergency clause in the players’ contracts.

Both sides have been negotiating a salary-reduction percentage for upcoming paychecks.

On Tuesday, the players association reiterated to agents that owners could withhold 25% of the players’ remaining salary if the regular season is canceled.

The NBA season was suspended March 11 after Utah Jazz center Rudy Gobert became the first player to test positive for COVID-19. Commissioner Adam Silver announced the next day that play would be halted for at least 30 days.

The new expectation is the NBA might not resume until July, if at all. Silver told TNT on Monday that there won’t be enough information to make a decision until May at the earliest.

The league is reportedly considering Atlantic City, Orlando, Hawaii, Louisville, and Las Vegas as possible locations for a 16-team playoff, minus fans, if the season resumes. The Bahamas have also been mentioned as a potential site.