The coronavirus has completely changed the way we live. Plenty of countries are in quarantine and there is no activity to do unless it’s essential. The NBA is part of those businesses that were shut down due to this crisis and this decision affecting the finances of their players.
According to CJ McCollum of the Portland Trail Blazers, there are several players with low salaries and they are the most affected by this situation. Talking with Jay Williams on The Boardroom, McCollum, a vice president for the NBA players association, said some players are on the verge of seeing their situations go worse since there could be a pay stoppage soon.
For him, a third part of the entire NBA players are living ‘paycheck to paycheck’.
“I think a lot of guys are going to be hurting especially people on minimums or people that didn’t just budget correctly and didn’t expect this to happen,” McCollum said. “Maybe they loaned money or paid money to family. Maybe they’re taking care of multiple people and now there’s a work stoppage for us and for a lot of people in America.”
CJ McCollum guesses a third of NBA players live paycheck by paycheck!
Via @RealJayWilliams @boardroom pic.twitter.com/mFu34gf68s
— Ballislife.com (@Ballislife) April 7, 2020
McCollum is part of the players that make millions, but not everybody is included on that list. The players at the bottom of the salary pyramid are surely suffering this whole situation. Of course, the league needs to prioritize health over anything, but other issues need to be addressed during this time.
CJ has been very active in trying to provide help for the people fighting against this disease. He recently donated $170,000 in Portland, Oregon, and Canton, Ohio, to organizations helping stop this crisis.
