Adam Silver’s tenure as NBA commissioner won’t be ending anytime soon, with the 61-year-old finalizing a long-term contract extension, as per insider Adrian Wojnarowski.
“BREAKING: NBA commissioner Adam Silver is finalizing a contract extension that’s expected to take him through the end of the decade, sources tell ESPN.”
BREAKING: NBA commissioner Adam Silver is finalizing a contract extension that’s expected to take him through the end of the decade, sources tell ESPN. pic.twitter.com/jRYcYv4ZjQ
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) January 28, 2024
Silver joined the NBA all the way back in 1992 and held various roles until becoming the deputy commissioner to David Stern in 2008. Stern stepped down in 2014, and the NBA’s Board of Governors unanimously approved for Silver to take over from him.
His contract was set to expire after the 2024 NBA Finals and with this extension, his stint as the commissioner is set to pass 15 years. The NBA has flourished with Silver at the helm, with all the major stakeholders being quite satisfied with what he has done.
Back in 2014, the salary cap was just $63 million, and in 2023, it had gone up to $136 million. Kobe Bryant was the highest-paid player then at $23.5 million, and Stephen Curry is the highest-paid for this 2023-24 season at $51.9 million.
Franchise valuations have also gone through the roof under Silver. In 2014, the Milwaukee Bucks were sold for a then-record $550 million, and in 2023, Michael Jordan sold the Charlotte Hornets for approximately $3 billion.
In 2022, the NBA’s annual revenue topped $10 billion for the first time ever and it also saw a record $8.9 billion being earned as basketball-related income. Money talks in any business, and Silver has ensured no one could complain about it.
Silver has also overseen two successful CBA negotiations with the players in 2016 and 2023, with the latest one ensuring labor peace until 2029. He was the lead negotiator in 2011 as well when he was the deputy commissioner.
Silver has also dealt with crisis situations admirably well. Not long after he took over in 2014, came the Donald Sterling scandal. A video was leaked online of the then-Los Angeles Clippers owner making some racist remarks, and Silver responded by banning him from the NBA for life. Sterling eventually sold the team, and they are now in much better hands with Steve Ballmer.
Silver also had to navigate the difficult COVID-19 situation. On March 11, 2020, he suspended the 2019-20 season and then resumed it in the Bubble in Orlando.
Under him, the league has also introduced popular concepts like the Play-In Tournament and the In-Season Tournament. Many were skeptical of both these tournaments when they were announced, but they turned out to be very successful.
There are now two major projects for Silver to undertake with this extension, the new media rights deal and league expansion. He was the one leading the way in 2014 when the NBA landed a nine-year, $24 billion media rights deal with ESPN and TNT.
That deal came into effect from the 2016-17 season and will expire at the end of the 2024-25 campaign. Negotiations are reportedly taking place currently over a new deal, and expect it to be a far bigger one than what was agreed back in 2014.
As for expansion, the NBA looks set to bring in two new teams at some point in the coming years. The last time the league expanded was back in 2004, and Silver will have to ensure the process goes as smoothly as possible over two decades later. Knowing his track record, it almost certainly will.
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