After David Stern cancelled the first two weeks of the NBA season, Knicks center Amare Stoudemire discussed the possibility of the players starting their own league. Stoudemire was quoted as saying, "If we don't go to Europe, then let's start our own league; that's how I see it." The so-called National Players League would be a league run by the players themselves. The NPL would offer players willing to invest their own money primary ownership roles in teams. Kobe, Lebron, Dwight Howard, Carmelo Anthony, Kevin Durant, and Dirk Nowitzki are just some of the names that have been thrown out there as potential owners.
But could the National Players League actually work? Here are the top three reasons why I think it could work:
1. More than a few NBA players have already put on charity games consisting of NBA all-stars that have sold out arenas and drawn millions of live viewers online. And it's not just the Chris Pauls and Dwight Howards of the world that are hosting games; LeMarcus Aldridge, Dwight Gooden, and everyone in between seems to be hosting a game.
2. The NBA has done an outstanding job of marketing it stars, and as a result the fans care more about the star players themselves than the teams they play for. Think about it, when is that last time you got excited for a big division game? How about for Kobe vs. Lebron or Dwight vs. Amare? These games don't really have major implications on the season, but they are still the games we want to see.
3. Ticket prices would be more affordable for NPL games, allowing fans to actually attend games without breaking the bank. The average cost for a family of four to attend an NBA game for the 2010-2011 season was $289.51. This is according to the NBA Fan Cost Index which takes into account the cost of tickets as well as parking, concessions, and souvenirs. It is far too early to tell how much an NPL game would cost, but by any estimate it would be much more affordable.
While it is fun to think about Kobe and Lebron getting into a bidding war over Dwight Howard, the National Players League would ultimately flop worse than Derek Fisher because of one thing: M-O-N-E-Y. The players' refusal to accept the owners' offer on a CBA is due to one reason: they don't want to give up their salaries. In the end, the NPL would never even come close to being able to pay players what NBA owners can. If there is no NBA season, players are much more likely to go overseas in search of a pay day.
