As the German player association tells us, the situation in Europe regarding contracts may be preventing NBA agents sending some of their players to Europe.
A presentation from the UBE [European Basketball Players Association] was solicited during a meeting last September in order to provide information on the situation in Europe to NBA agents, many of whom also represent players in Europe.
The presentation included an overview of players associations in Europe and a listing of common types of problems in some countries. For example, in Germany after a serious injury a player’s full salary is only guaranteed for six weeks if a special provision is not included in the contract; in France, contracts are never “net” of income taxes; in Italy, the only “guaranteed contract” is the standard contract in the CBA; in Spain, there is a strong effort by the union to eliminate the participation of naturalized Spainards; and in Greece, teams are allowed not to pay players for up to three months.
Sounds like fun, doesn’t it? Yes, these players still make a nice chunk of money, but would you go to work every day if you didn’t get paid for three months?
A large number of agents indicated that they were suffering from these types of problems in Europe and welcomed at least the beginning of an effort to organize players collectively in order to help professionalize the business.
Players must also be defended, and if Players’ Associations are not taken seriously, clubs will do whatever they want.
