The NBA could lose an estimated $1-2 billion in shared revenue if the 2019-20 season is canceled. According to Sam Amick of The Athletic, the league could lose approximately $900 million alone in national television revenue if the playoffs don’t air.

Couple that with the prospect of losing out on regular-season games, and teams could also lose out on regional sports network revenues that require them to air at least 70 games to meet a financial threshold the league is so adamant about.

The sheer amount of financial losses is quite the scary prospect for a league that was 80% done with its regular season before it came to a halt on March 11.

While there has been some optimism about returning to play, largely spearheaded by star players who have the most to lose financially — there are still plenty of roads to travel before the NBA can open its doors again.

A safe resumption of the season largely hinges of available testing. While the NBA can get it, the public relations fiasco that could ensue from issuing daily or weekly tests to players while the country is still in need of them could be a horrendous backlash.

“We can get mass testing,” one general manager said. “But they don’t want to do that right now because there are parts of the country that still can’t get it.”

The risk involving potential positive tests also weighs heavily on this matter:

“No one wants a body bag,” one agent with knowledge of the league’s internal discussions said. “They’re trying to figure it out medically.”

There are simply too many hurdles to make the choice an undisputed one. Sides will be split on this decision, regardless of what it comes to be, as the uncertainty of a global pandemic keeps costing the league huge dollars by the minute.