The NBA could lose up to $500 million in ticket revenue if this season is cancelled, according to a report from Real GM.
The NBA announced on Wednesday that it will suspend the 2019-20 regular season due to growing concerns surrounding COVID-19, also known as the coronavirus. At this point, it’s not clear when play might resume. If the season were to be cancelled entirely, the league would lose a hefty sum of money.
Via Tom Haberstroh of Real GM:
The NBA makes an average of $1.2 million in gate revenue per regular season game and $2 million for each playoff game, according to a source.
With 259 of 1,230 regular season games remaining, that means roughly $300 million of ticket revenue lost if fans couldn’t purchase tickets or were refunded for tickets already purchased.
Over the past decade, on average, there have been 83 playoff games in each postseason, which would lead to another loss of about $166 million.
In total, that’s nearly $500 million in lost ticket revenue.
Two NBA players have contracted the coronavirus. Utah Jazz center Rudy Gobert was diagnosed earlier this week. His teammate, Donovan Mitchell, tested positive on Wednesday.
As part of an interview with ESPN’s Rachel Nichols earlier this week, Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban pondered the thought of the regular season ending in July (or even August).
“Absolutely,” Cuban said of the possibility. “Hopefully, this virus will run its course over the next 60 days or so. Then, at that point, we can start making decisions about what our schedule looks like.”
The NBA Finals usually end in mid-June. I asked Mavericks owner Mark Cuban if he could see NBA games stretching into August this year; his answer was "absolutely." pic.twitter.com/PeI53s8Px1
— Rachel Nichols (@Rachel__Nichols) March 12, 2020
These are unprecedented times in the sporting world. Most leagues around the globe have decided to follow the NBA’s footsteps in an attempt to limit the spread of this virus, cancelling their seasons or restricting fan attendance.
Follow Us
Subscribe