The NBA season has been suspended nearly three weeks due to the COVID-19 pandemic spreading across the United States.
Its suspension came after Utah Jazz big man Rudy Gobert tested positive for the novel coronavirus. There’s no telling when the NBA season will resume, if at all.
In talking about the work stoppage with Bloomberg, Clippers owner Steve Ballmer indicated that his team is set to lose at least $10 million.
“It’ll be eight digits,” he said. “Now you’ve got to start with what we were either going to make or lose before the season started, but net, it’ll certainly be an eight-digit loss for us.”
This all depends on when the NBA can get back to work. If the season is canceled, the Clippers and other teams are looking at a lot more than $10 million in losses. That’s especially true for playoff teams such as the Clippers. No postseason revenue equals massive losses.
Sure the human cost of COVID-19 (30,600-plus deaths) is the primary focus as the world looks to stop the growth of the virus. But as we’ve seen with the global economy, money has figured into the equation here. That’s no different when it comes to the business of the NBA.