Report: Union memo to players spells out 'doomsday' CBA provision

Correspondence from the National Basketball Players Association to NBA players Friday noted the terms of the collective bargaining agreement's "doomsday provision," which can release owners from their obligation to pay a percentage of player salaries for missed games, according to ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski.

The CBA includes a "Force Majeure Event" clause encompassing cataclysmic events including epidemics, natural disasters, and wars, and classifies them as conditions that make it impossible for the NBA to fulfill its duties as laid out in the labor agreement.

There hasn't been any discussion about triggering the provision, sources told Wojnarowski, as hope remains that the NBA will return to action at some point this spring. Commissioner Adam Silver said Friday that the hiatus due to the global COVID-19 pandemic is expected to last "at least 30 days."

The clause stipulates that "players lose 1/92.6 of their salary for every game missed as a result of a force majeure event," Wojnarowski writes.

The league's fiscal year ends June 30, at which time player contracts either expire or enter their next season. It's not yet known how the NBA will deal with that matter if the season is pushed back into the summer months.

Meanwhile, the league and the union plan to agree to a moratorium on roster moves during the coronavirus hiatus, sources told The Athletic's Shams Charania.

That would freeze league business such as trades, signings, 10-day contracts, and player options. Trades are already not permitted as the deadline for such deals passed Feb. 6.

The moratorium is reportedly retroactive to Thursday and will extend to April 10, when it will be reassessed. Players will be paid in full when they receive their next checks on March 15.