Report: NBA asks players to take 50% pay cut beginning mid-April

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The NBA is proposing that players' paychecks be reduced by 50% beginning April 15, while the NBPA countered by suggesting a 25% decrease starting in mid-May, sources told The Athletic's Shams Charania.

Both parties are reportedly discussing what to do financially if the 2019-20 regular season doesn't resume, including the possibility of withholding up to 25% of players' remaining salaries in a league escrow.

If the NBA begins to cancel games, the force majeure clause in the collective bargaining agreement will be exercised automatically. Under the provision, players will lose approximately 1% of their salary per canceled contest.

The ongoing stoppage caused by the COVID-19 pandemic is considered a force majeure event because it prevents the NBA from fulfilling its duties as laid out in the labor agreement.