NBA: In a state of uncertainty, the league should bring back the Amnesty Clause

In a state of uncertainty, the NBA should help its teams by giving them one opportunity to utilize an Amnesty Clause.

The remainder of the 2019-20 NBA season is very much in limbo due to COVID-19. There is even some doubt about when the 2020-21 season could start, with December being viewed as a possible start date.

The NBA wants to finish the season for many reasons, one is to crown a champion, another is to move on to figure out a plan for next season, but the other is to collect their TV money for the league year. With the suspension of play, this has caused a pause on any new income for the league.

The salary cap is determined by the revenue generated by the league. The cap was already determined to not increase at original projection because of China pulling NBA games from their TV stations. (Note: some games are still broadcasted in China). Woj tweeted out that the salary cap was projected to be 116 million and has come down to 115 million; both are still an increase from $109.1 million for this current season.

With the pandemic ceasing operations of the league, it is likely that even reaching the January salary cap projection is unlikely. With the possibility of the cap becoming flat, this could cause a historic slow down on player movement. Save for any sign and trades or trades once the season is over.

The NBA has had a method to give teams a chance to start fresh in the past, with their Amnesty Clause. The Amnesty Clause was last used after the 2011 NBA lockout. The clause allows teams to clear one player off their books without any cap hits.

The player is still paid their full salary and can not re-sign with the team that waived him. After a player is amnestied, he goes through a waiver process where all of the teams under the salary cap can put a “bid” on a player using their remaining cap room. The team that places the highest bid obtains the player.

The bid is subtracted from the amount the player is owed from their previous team. So if a player was due $10 million he gets waived and signs for $2 million with a new team, his old team only owe him $8 million.

After a player clears waivers he can sign with a team over the cap for the league minimum. Only players that were signed prior to the amnesty being given to a team are eligible to be waived.

Last time a team was given the chance to use the Amnesty Clause, they had from 2011–12 to 2015–16 seasons to use it. If teams were given until 2024, that would allow them to look at the league and world landscape and make a decision that best suits them.

This could also allow teams to get off of some super max contracts that might be less than desirable in the future or long term extensions of players who did not age well.

There are some drawbacks to this idea. It might seem unsavory to cut players and force them to find a new home and city in the midst of a pandemic.

The NBA has become a league about player movement, so a trade or buyout could easily happen even without an amnesty. This would also allow any players who were amnestied and cleared waivers an opportunity to choose their new team/city themselves.

The Amnesty Clause has the potential to also dominate the sports headlines for weeks. As teams decide if they should use it or save it for a future season. It could allow teams that are average the ability to pick up a piece to make them a contender. It could allow contenders to pick up specialists who were overpaid on their last team. It could allow a quicker rebuild for many teams at the bottom of their conferences to potentially get off a bad contract weighing them down.

It might be unlikely some owners want to pay players millions of dollars not to play for them after they just lost millions of dollars during a pandemic. If you can give a team a chance to potentially rid themselves of a bad contract they might take it. You are not required to use the Amnesty Clause; it just gives teams another tool during these uncertain times.