Basketball: Let's play ball as deal ends NBA stalemate

The United States National Basketball Association and the players' union reached an agreement yesterday to end a six-month lockout and save what is left of the professional season after a secret, all-night bargaining session.

The deal between commissioner David Stern and union head Billy Hunter was struck only 29 hours before the league's board of governors - the committee of club owners - was set to vote on cancelling the remainder of the season.

And the players' union later overwhelmingly ratified the deal. Players are to report to training camp on January 10, with the season to begin in the first week of February, a season of about 50 games - compared to the usual 82 - plus playoffs.

"Billy and David stayed up all night and worked this out," said players' union president and New York Knicks centre Patrick Ewing. "The players gave some ground and compromised and owners gave some ground and compromised.

"The players want to go back to work. The owners want to play ball. It's a good deal for both sides. It's over."

The deal still had to be approved by the league's board of governors at a meeting today which had originally been called to cancel the remainder of the season in the absence of an agreement.

NBA players have the highest average salary in American professional sports, about $US2.6 million ($4.9 million) annually, and the median salary is about $US1.3 million ($2.45 million).

Players in the National Football League average about $US900,000 and major league baseball pays an average of $US1.45 million.

The basketball club owners' last proposal had guaranteed that that would continue. The union had wanted higher salaries for the so-called lower-class and middle-class players.

The players, all millionaires, had been locked out by owners desperate to impose a tighter salary cap to halt an exploding wage bill which was exceeding $US1.1 billion this year.

The NBA reached a crisis when its clubs found themselves contracted by a union deal to pay out 57 per cent of their entire income to players over and above fees paid to superstars such as Michael Jordan which fell outside the cap agreement.

Jordan, the highest paid in the NBA, would have earned $US33 million this season from the Chicago Bulls on top of his $US45 million in endorsement income.

The NBA is paying each of its 400-plus players an average salary of $US2.6 million. It was prepared to increase that to almost $US5 million over the next five years but the players fought for more until hours before the owners deadline for cancelling the season.

The lockout was essentially a strike by the club owners.

The agreement is the set of ground rules which mandate things like minimum salaries, pension and health insurance benefits, roster limits and a salary cap.

The biggest issue in this work stoppage had been money. The owners had insisted on maximum salary costs and the union had refused to accept a "hard" salary cap.

The lockout, in effect since July 1, has caused the NBA to miss games because of a labour dispute for the first time in its history. The first three months of the season had been scrapped and players had lost about $US500 million in salaries.

"I wouldn't blame the fans if they didn't come back," said Jeff Hornacek, of the Utah Jazz. "Neither side is coming out of this thing looking good."

Before this season, the NBA was the only major North American sports league that had never lost a game to a work stoppage. The agreement saves it from becoming the first existing league to lose an entire season to a labour dispute.