NBA Lockout 2011: NBA Players Need to Compromise with Owners

NBA players and owners have not reached a deal yet to end the lockout. Things have improved, and they are currently meeting, but things not looking great.

Today, NBA players have gone to social media to drum up support. They are tweeting "Let us play #standunited."

Players such as Derek Fisher, Carlos Boozer, Chris Paul, LeBron James and many others have sent out this tweet to their followers. Terrence Williams even tweeted, "Let us play" 10 times in one tweet to emphasis his point.

The players are trying to portrays themselves in a light to show they want nothing more than to play basketball, but actions speak louder than words, and money speaks the loudest. 

Technically the owners locked out the players, but it was because the players are getting a disproportional amount of BRI (basketball-related income), and a new deal needed to get made.  

I believe the players have the ability to end this lockout. Players currently want between 51-53 percent of the BRI.

However, NBA owners are against this percentage but are open to a 50/50 deal. I don't understand why the players believe they deserve more than half of the net income.

Yes, the players are the ones actually playing and drawing in fans therefore making the money, but they are just employees. You don't see Apple, General Motors or Boeing employees demanding more than 50 percent of net income; that would be ridiculous.

These men are already getting paid obscene amounts of money to play a game for a living, something most men would kill to do. Obviously most people are not as physically gifted and could not do their job, but saying they have good jobs especially in this economy, is an understatement.  

Not to mention the owners are the ones who have to take on all the risk. If they sign a bad contract with a player, they are on the hook (which is fair). If an NBA player doesn't play great, he doesn't get a pay decrease, not to say there won't be negative ramifications, but it isn't the same amount of risk.

If fans don't show up to the game, a player's salary is not directly affected during that contract year, on the other hand, the owners' wallets are directly affected.  

I'm not abdicating that players should only get a small percentage of BRI, but the 50/50 deal is more than fair. The simple fact is the owners should be getting more of the money than the players. 

NBA players and owners alike need to swallow their prides, stop trying to "win" and just sign a fair deal.

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