Milwaukee Bucks forward Kyle Kuzma has emerged as one of the biggest critics of the Collective Bargaining Agreement, and he was at it again on Sunday. Philadelphia 76ers superstar Jaylen Brown’s comments about player equity resurfaced recently, and Kuzma reacted to them by sending a strong message on X.
“Let’s be real…the CBA makes sure owners, PE funds, and outside investors can eat off NBA team equity, but the players driving the ratings and the merch are treated like short‑term contractors,” Kuzma wrote. “And funny thing is, we should be like independent contractors. Since we are W-2, we can’t even write off certain things like our agent fees. BS.”
Kuzma thinks the players should be allowed to get a slice of the pie, as NBA team values skyrocket. In December 2025, Forbes ranked the Golden State Warriors as the NBA’s most valuable franchise at $11 billion. The Los Angeles Lakers were second at $10 billion, while the New York Knicks were third at $9.75 billion. The Memphis Grizzlies were down at the bottom, and even they were at $3.5 billion.
While the owners and the outside private equity funds benefit from the rising valuations, the players do not. Kuzma laments about them being taxed like standard employees while being treated like short-term contractors. He wants change, like Brown. Here is what the five-time All-Star had to say during his interview with Bloomberg.
“I think players should be able to invest alongside ownership groups and business opportunities,” Brown said. “I don’t understand why that has never been a thing. But it’s like you’re an athlete, and they make it seem like they can control how much wealth or growth that you could actually accumulate.
“I think that’s wrong,” Brown stated. “I also think that just like any other major corporation, if you work for Apple or if you work for Nike or if you work for anywhere, like if you’re a CEO, if you’re someone who has been on a board for a large amount of time, you get equity in the company. At some point, you are part of it.
“And I think athletes should be looked at in the same way,” Brown continued. “You played for the Celtics for 20 years. You should get a piece of equity because you helped accumulate the growth, and that’s the part that gets lost in translation is the growth… The sweat equity that you put in, you get compensated just like for doing your job, but you don’t get compensated for the growth.
“And in major corporations and companies you do, or at least some of the big ones,” Brown added. “So that’s something that I would propose. I have proposed. But we’ll see. We’ve got another CBA coming up.”
Well, the current CBA ends in 2030, so there is a fair bit of time remaining. It sure looks like the players are going to ask for major changes when those negotiations come around.
Kuzma believes the next CBA will be a do-or-die moment for the players. To go with the equity-related issues, the 30-year-old also isn’t happy about the aprons. Kuzma says this CBA was sold as parity, but the aprons are starting to function as a hard cap.
While the aprons might go away, you find it hard to imagine the owners ever agreeing to let the players hold equity in teams. This could well prove to be the sticking point in negotiations.
