NBPA Reportedly Proposing Use of TV Revenue for Former Players' Health Care

Current NBA players may not be the only ones to reap the benefits of the league's new television deal, which is set to kick in at the start of the 2016-17 season.

Yahoo Sports' Adrian Wojnarowski reported the National Basketball Players Association may set aside a chunk of cash as part of a health-insurance fund for retired stars:

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The plan is estimated to cost between $10 million-$15 million a year and a vote on passage of the union's initiative is set for the NBPA's July 20 membership meeting in Las Vegas. The union's 30 team player representatives are expected to pass the plan with ease and start the process of covering the retired players quickly, league sources said.

The NBPA has been researching the names and addresses of the approximate 1,500 living ex-players and hoping to offer three separate health-care options to them, sources said.

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According to Wojnarowski, NBPA executive director Michele Roberts decided to explore the avenue after hearing stories of former players who had no money to afford rather simple medical procedures to fix problems caused by their basketball careers.

In March 2013, Deadspin's Dave McKenna wrote that six-time All-Star Adrian Dantley was working as a crossing guard in Silver Spring, Maryland, in order to obtain health insurance that the league didn't offer. NBA salaries may be exploding now, but it wasn't always the case that players were receiving unexpected millions each year.

The NBA is set to get roughly $2.7 billion a year under the next TV contract. That's not to mention the values of the 30 teams continue to increase with each season—hence the sale of the Los Angeles Clippers to Steve Ballmer for $2 billion.    

Using a few million dollars from the NBPA's coffers to help out the stars who helped make the league what it is today is a more than worthwhile pursuit.