The NBA, and the world in general, came to a standstill in March 2020 because of COVID-19.
It is safe to say that the people had never witnessed anything like it; with closures and shutdowns affecting businesses. The NBA was not exempt from these effects, as fans were prohibited from attending games in stadiums due to public health risks. The league witnessed a major decline in revenue because of the pandemic.
However, unprecedented times call for unprecedented measures. The league decided to withhold 25% of players’ salaries as escrow to combat Covid-19-related shortfalls. Furthermore, as the world gradually came to terms with the pandemic, the NBA decided to hold back 15% of players’ salaries for the 2022-23 season. But, having said that, the NBA has recently concluded its financial audit for the 2022-23 season and determined that the business has rebounded robustly from the financial setbacks caused by COVID-19.
USA Today via Reuters
This is good news, but the league’s healthy financial standing holds greater significance for the players. It means that the league will return nearly the entire escrow fund withheld during the season, totaling approximately $700 million. This means some of the league’s highest-paid players will probably pocket millions. Kevin Durant, who was supposed to earn approximately $44,124,845 in the 2022-23 season, will probably receive a paycheck of around $6,617,976.
Despite returning the majority of the escrow funds to the players, the NBA is going to retain 2.65% of $4.5 billion of total player contracts that season. This amount totals to $112.25 million. These actions would not have been possible without the NBA’s impressive recovery after the pandemic. This further goes on to show the growing popularity and influence of the NBA.
NBA’s growing popularity and influence
The NBA is gradually increasing its footing as the most popular professional American sports league. While the NFL dominates the American audience, on a global scale, the NBA reigns supreme. According to Nielsen, the NBA’s viewership across ABC and ESPN has seen a 16% rise during the early stages of the 2023-24 season.
Furthermore, the 2022-23 season set numerous records for attendance figures. A total of 22,234,502 fans attended NBA games, which is the highest-ever figure recorded in NBA history. Additionally, NBA games recorded an average attendance of 18,077, another all-time high.
Moreover, NBA arenas were filled to an all-time high of 97%. What are your thoughts on the NBA’s growing global influence? Let us know in the comments below!
