Escrow system a factor when calculating average salary?

GrandAdmiralDan · Post #1 » by **GrandAdmiralDan** » Mon Mar 30, 2009 11:58 pm

For the average salary calculation, I've always used actual salary payed, but what if salaries exceed the allowable percentage of BRI and triggers some of the player salary held in escrow to be returned to the league?

And am I correct in expecting at least some of the escrow money is going to get returned to the league this year?

Dunkenstein · Post #2 » by **Dunkenstein** » Tue Mar 31, 2009 5:56 am

It's my understanding that the neither the escrow tax or any amount of said tax that is kept by the league is used in calculating the average salary. As you suggest, it is based on the contracted salaries of all the players in the league.

Last season, which was a healthy economic one for the teams in the league, the players only received $21.5M from the escrow fund, while the league got $163.4M. My guess is that based on the tough economic situations that teams league-wide are facing, probably all of the escrow money will be given to the league.

GrandAdmiralDan · Post #3 » by **GrandAdmiralDan** » Tue Mar 31, 2009 9:38 am

Thanks for the info.

The league got $163.4 mil out of the $184.9 mil in escrow last season in a HEALTHY economic season?
Honestly, I was unaware that kind of split would occur in a HEALTHY season. I guess I never really had a good awareness of that.

If that's the case, I would think not just "probably" all of the escrow money would stay with the league, I would think "certainly"

Dunkenstein · Post #4 » by **Dunkenstein** » Tue Mar 31, 2009 4:43 pm

GrandAdmiralDan wrote:I would think not just "probably" all of the escrow money would stay with the league, I would think "certainly"

I'm just being cautious. I'm not ready to say "certainly" until I see the letter from the league this July or get a personal note from David Stern to that effect :-)

GrandAdmiralDan · Post #5 » by **GrandAdmiralDan** » Tue Mar 31, 2009 10:08 pm

Dunkenstein wrote:
GrandAdmiralDan wrote:I would think not just "probably" all of the escrow money would stay with the league, I would think "certainly"

I'm just being cautious. I'm not ready to say "certainly" until I see the letter from the league this July or get a personal note from David Stern to that effect

Stern is still sending you personal notes?

All I get from him anymore are drunk texts at 3am, whining about nobody trusting his integrity

Dunkenstein · Post #6 » by **Dunkenstein** » Tue Mar 31, 2009 11:04 pm

GrandAdmiralDan wrote:
Dunkenstein wrote:
GrandAdmiralDan wrote:I would think not just "probably" all of the escrow money would stay with the league, I would think "certainly"

I'm just being cautious. I'm not ready to say "certainly" until I see the letter from the league this July or get a personal note from David Stern to that effect

Stern is still sending you personal notes?

All I get from him anymore are drunk texts at 3am, whining about nobody trusting his integrity

I actually did get a personal, hand written note from Stern in 1984. In the early 80s I was employed by an agency in New York that worked with the NBA, and I interacted with him regularly as the agency's supervisor of the NBA account. He was deputy commissioner at the time.

I left New York in 1983, but when he was named commissioner, I sent him a note congratulating him. He replied with a note thanking me for my kind thoughts. Occasionally over the following several years I would run into him at various NBA events and he was very cordial.

LarryCoon · Post #7 » by **LarryCoon** » Fri Apr 3, 2009 1:51 am

...til he found out you know me. Now he treats you like he owes you money.