The NBA and NBPA Grant Payment Plan for Former ABA Players (Unpublished)
Back in 1967 the ABA became the first real competitor to the much older and established National Basketball Association (NBA).
The ABA was gaining traction in the eyes of basketball fans, and competition didn't look good for the future of the NBA.
The ABA was also drafting younger, more exciting players. The ABA was the first basketball league was the first to allow teens who were one year removed from high school to be paid and play in the league. The Spencer Haywood Rule changed the landscape of the sport and introduced the world to many legends like Kobe Bryant and Kevin Garnett. Within nine years the ABA lost all its traction due to their fight with the NBA. The ABA's lack of TV deals, bribing of NBA referees and general underpaying of athletes led to the league's downfall.
In 1976 the ABA agreed to a merger with the NBA and all-star ABA players like Julius Erving and George Gervin were sent to upward. The ABA also lost four of its franchises that were repurposed for the NBA. Most of the ABA's players weren't selected to be a part of the NBA, many of them were left broke.
On Tuesday, the National Basketball Association and the National Basketball Player Association (NBPA) are paying back those who helped the game be what it is today.
Both associations are going to provide an annual payment plan to the 115 living former ABA players.
The annual payment will result in $3,828 per year of service. The NBA and NBPA have been fighting, the Indianapolis-based and ABA centric, Dropping Dimes Foundation (DDF) since 2014. According to the IndyStar, The DDF has urged the NBA to give ABA players a monthly pension of $400 just like the original severance payment once the merger happened. That would only cost the NBA a reasonable $1.4 million a year. The approximate $25 million settlement could help ease the tension.
Dropping Dimes may have been founded by Scott Tarter and Dr. John Abrams, but the foundation wouldn't have succeeded without ABA and NBA legend Mel Daniels. Daniels planted the idea of paying back former ABA players long ago and it took years of his support to come to fruition. Daniels died in 2015, but once again his legacy translated above basketball. Former ABA player Frank Card, who played for the ABA's Denver Rockets, believed the NBA was waiting for ABA players to "die off". The IndyStar also found that 80% of the players that were struggling financially were Black. Dropping Dimes revealed that former players weren't even able to pay basic medical bills.
NBA Commissioner Adam Silver sees the newly enforced pension plan as "appropriate to provide".
Both our current players and team governors felt a need to act on behalf of these former ABA players who are aging and, in many cases, facing difficult economic circumstances.
These pioneers made meaningful contributions to help grow the game of professional basketball and we all believe it’s appropriate to provide financial recognition to this group for their impact.
The NBA is going into its 76th season after topping $10 billion in revenue last season for the first time.
Maybe a bit more money could've been given out to the elders of the league.
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