• Loading stock data...
Sunday, June 29, 2025

NBA Cracks Down On Player Rest Ahead of Multi-Billion Dollar Rights Talks

  • ESPN and TNT collectively pay $2.6 billion annually for NBA rights, emphasizing the importance of star players.
  • Amazon Prime Sports is expected to make a bid for a streaming package.
Kiyoshi Mio-USA TODAY Sports

The NBA will tip off multi-billion dollar media rights negotiations to determine who controls its rights into the 2030s and beyond.

Right on cue, the league has adopted harsher penalties for teams that rest otherwise healthy players during nationally televised games and in-season tournaments.

Under the more stringent rules, the NBA’s 30 teams can be fined over $1 million for resting “star” players who’ve been an All-Star or All-NBA in the past three seasons. 

If a team boasts two “star players,” like the Boston Celtics’ Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown, they’re not allowed to rest both during a game unless they’re injured. 

Is the NBA’s timing a coincidence? Hell no.

Like any league, the NBA wants to put its best foot forward during media rights negotiations. 

The league will seek $50 billion to $75 billion for its next long-term cycle of media rights deals. There’s a lot at stake with deep-pocketed Amazon Prime Video slobbering for a streaming package from the NBA.

Fortunately, this is one of those times when the interests of the league, its TV networks, and its fans coincide.

The No. 1 beef of Walt Disney Co.’s ESPN and Warner Bros. Discovery Sports’ TNT (never expressed too loudly) are NBA teams resting healthy superstars during their national telecasts. Once a rarity, it’s happening more often in recent seasons. 

You can imagine the wailing and gnashing of teeth at their respective headquarters in Bristol and Atlanta when a healthy LeBron James, Kevin Durant or Kawhi Leonard skips their broadcasts due to, say it with me, “load management.” 

You can’t blame the league’s TV partners. They’re paying $2.6 billion annually for NBA media rights through the 2024-2025 season. The NBA is a star-driven league. Attracting big audiences without putting your biggest stars on the floor is hard.

Similarly, I’ve been told that the No. 1 complaint of fans is shelling out a small fortune for game tickets only to be denied watching the players they want to watch.

The average cost for a family of four to attend an NBA game during the 2021-22 season was $444.12, according to Team Marketing Report. But you can double that for teams like the New York Knicks in the most expensive markets.

NBA Teams Could Be Fined Millions For Resting Stars

The league is reportedly cracking down on load management.
September 11, 2023

Consider teams like the dynastic Golden State Warriors, who fans want to watch around the country. 

During one stretch last season, the club’s three stars — Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson, and Draymond Green — all played in a home loss to the Indiana Pacers on Dec. 5. But two nights later, the trio were rested for a road loss to the Utah Jazz, according to ESPN

Yes, the Warriors’ Big 3 are getting older and need more rest. But just imagine how many ticket-buying Dads at the game that night had to explain to Little Johnny why they couldn’t watch Steph Curry shoot the 3 from downtown.

The rules will impact 25 of 30 NBA teams and 50 players.

John Kosner, the former ESPN executive turned media consultant, applauds the league for taking the bull by the horns.  

“Raising interest in nationally-televised regular season matchups is frequently about which star players are going to play. The NFL and, to a far lesser extent, college football generate playoff-level ratings during their regular season. They’re the only ones,” said Kosner, who worked closely with late NBA Commissioner David Stern. 

“The more the NBA can bridge the gap between audience levels for regular season games versus playoff games (nationally televised), the more value it creates. So, of course, that’s important to the NBA, its broadcast partners, and advertisers and matters for the League’s next media deals.”

As usual, TNT’s Charles Barkley has his finger on the pulse of the NBA. 

The trend of players sitting out due to alleged load management is “disrespectful” to fans and the game, he warned.

“It’s a huge issue,” Barkley told ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith. “I love (NBA Commissioner Adam Silver). But I think he went overboard trying to take care of the players.”

To his credit, Silver admitted things have gotten out of hand. The NBA must return to the “principle” that it’s an 82-game league.

“I think we’ll state this principle, see how teams react, and see if more needs to be done,” said Silver. “But I think, most importantly, there’s a sense from all the different constituent groups in the league that this is ultimately about the fans and that we’ve taken this too far.”

Players have sidestepped rule changes before. So the jury’s still out on whether the fines will have the desired impact, said Kosner. 

But it’s smart business for the NBA to course-correct – and put its best product on the floor during the regular season. The fewer healthy stars fans and viewers see on the bench in street clothes, the better off the NBA will be.

Linkedin
Whatsapp
Copy Link
Link Copied
Link Copied

What to Read

Joopiter, Michael Jordan card

Michael Jordan Rookie Card Sells for Record $2.5M in Eyebrow-Raising Auction

The auction, which received only one bid, sets a new record.
Jun 24, 2025; Arlington, Texas, USA; Dallas Wings guard Paige Bueckers (5) controls the ball as Atlanta Dream guard Maya Caldwell (33) defends during the first half at College Park Center.

Paige Bueckers Eyes Expanded Season, ‘Rightful Pay’ in New CBA

“The respect, attention, the accessibility—you see everything growing.”

Masai Ujiri Out As Raptors’ Rogers Era Marked by Leadership Shift

Ujiri led the Raptors to the 2019 NBA championship.

Featured Today

The Battle Over Wimbledon’s Ambitious Expansion Plan

A classic NIMBY standoff on one of the most hallowed grounds in sports.
Seattle Rough & Tumble
June 28, 2025

Women’s Sports Bars Are on the Rise. Survival Isn’t Guaranteed

Some women’s sports bars are cashing in. Others are clawing for funding.
June 27, 2025

Shitposters Have Taken the Reins of Pro Sports’ Official Voices

Meet the social media pros turning sports teams into internet trolls.
Jun 17, 2025; Sunrise, Florida, USA; Florida Panthers center Sam Reinhart (13) hoists the Stanley Cup after winning game six of the 2025 Stanley Cup Final against the Edmonton Oilers at Amerant Bank Arena
June 26, 2025

Stanley Cup’s International Summer Tour: Rules, Repairs, and Raucousness

No pro trophy tour compares to the NHL’s three-month global victory lap.

ESPN’s Pitaro: RSN Turmoil An Opportunity to Expand Local Game Coverage

ESPN chairman Jimmy Pitaro highlights a fast-developing regional content strategy.
CFP
January 3, 2024

Tuned In: CFP Committee Got It Right. And Fox Mounting Massive Rights Bid?

After all that criticism of the CFP selection committee, a Michigan-Alabama insta-classic proves they made the right call—for TV viewers, at least.
skip_bayless
August 2, 2024

Sources: FS1 Could ‘Blow Up’ Studio Lineup After Bayless Departure

Bayless’s exit could lead to significant changes to the network’s lineup.
Sponsored

Hottest Matchups Following NFL Schedule Release

The NFL released the 2025 regular-season schedule, and anticipation is already building in the ticket marketplace with four months to go.
NFL WBD Paramount
December 21, 2023

Could Warner Brothers Discovery Swoop Back Into the NFL TV Business?

A merger of WBD and Paramount Global would reportedly bring NFL TV rights back to TNT.
NFL in London
December 13, 2023

Blanket Coverage: NFL’s Global Expansion Could Create Fourth Sunday Time Slot

NFL expands its International Series to eight games.
Bill Belichick
December 8, 2023

The Hoodie in the Booth? Bill Belichick’s TV Analyst Prospects Grow

If the Patriots coach is interested in TV, several TV networks told Front Office Sports they’d love to talk to him.
December 5, 2023

Seminoles’ CFP Snub Opens New Front in Disney vs. Florida War

Florida lawmakers are already considering legislation to protest the College Football Playoff’s exclusion of Florida State.