The 2024 NBA Finals have yet to kick off, but the league has announced a fresh start on the broadcasting side. The NBA's new TV deal, which was announced on Wednesday, will bring in around $76 billion to be split among the franchises and their players. This explosion in revenue is a defining moment for Adam Silver's headquarters. It also puts some make-0r-break pressure on the individual ownership groups of all 30 teams, especially small-market outfits like the New Orleans Pelicans.
The NBA's new TV deal brings an unfortunate end to TNT's run, but it will bring a massive windfall to the league. The salary cap is expected to rise by the CBA-mandated 10 percent year-over-year maximum for the life of the deal, meaning all owners will have extra cash to throw around at least for a few years, regardless of where they fall on the most recent Forbes lists. If Pelicans owner Gayle Benson hasn't paid the luxury tax to win a few playoff series halfway through the new CBA, though, it may never happen.
The New Orleans Saints and the state of Louisiana are already fighting over unpaid Superdome bills, which has led to Smoothie King Center updates being pushed back and it's getting messy just a few months before New Orleans hosts Super Bowl 59. This new NBA deal may provide a path back towards some positive political capital for these New Orleans teams by positively impacting their rosters and bringing in a renewed outside interest in the Pelicans ownership.
Pelicans pushing for bigger local footprint
The new $76 billion deal will also affect how fans consume Pelicans games. The new league-wide agreement should bring in the extra cash for ownership to invest in a better local broadcast situation. A few sources have shared with ClutchPoints that the team did look at “doing everything in-house” when it came to over-the-air and streaming options for games in the past. However, the eventual Gray Media partnership was less complicated.
The local broadcaster already had the infrastructure set up, and the viewership stats show the team got millions more eyeballs when not relying on Bally. Gray's Fox 8 New Orleans channel was owned by the late Tom Benson until 2017. Familiarity was also a factor in moving the Pelicans radio broadcast to WWL, the same radio giant that has brought LSU and Saints games into homes for generations.
Who fans see and hear presenting the Pelicans games should not change, though. The new money should help the team keep Antonio Daniels, Joel Meyers, and even Jen Hale, who is arguably the hardest-working woman in sports. Todd Graffagnini will remain on play-by-play duties, and WWL's expanded coverage will focus on keeping some local flavor on the broadcast. MLS signed a deal that killed local coverage and sources say the league's teams have taken note of that switch-to-streaming mistake.
Pelicans' fan favorites should get paid
EVP David Griffin said to expect some urgency from the front office to build a Western Conference competitor this offseason. Building around Zion Williamson now seems to be the clear-cut priority after years of trying to spread the burdens of the All-Star role. Brandon Ingram and CJ McCollum could both be on the move this summer, but some of the team's fan-favorites should be able to stay in town past their next contract thanks to this new injection of TV money.
Forget the luxury tax implications for a second. The new money means that Herb Jones will likely get double the money on his next deal. Every first team All-Defense member who is still under the age of 30 while shooting almost 40 percent from three-point range will get $100 million in the current NBA. Likewise, some of that NBA TV Fund increase is going to help grease the wheels in negotiations with Trey Murphy III, who is eligible for an extension over $200 million this summer.
If the team is going to be working the margins to stay under the luxury tax most seasons, signing fan favorites to market rate deals is the least the organization can do to keep fans coming out to the Smoothie King Center and tuning into away game broadcasts.
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