When LeBron James and several others decided to sign short term deals instead of long term contracts, there were rumblings about a new upcoming television deal that influenced their decisions. The new deal was expected to be huge and would significantly raise the salary cap hence why James and others decided to wait for more money. Well the numbers are finally in and they’re just as big as expected if not bigger.
NBA is set to announce a $24 billion, nine-year deal with ESPN and TNT on Monday. The deal includes an annual average value nearly three times the current deal. It averages out to $2.7 billion per season.
The NBA has also laid out partnership plans with ESPN for a new online streaming service for regular season games only.
