Report: NBA to Propose Players Take 50% Pay Reduction on April 15

The NBA has reportedly proposed that players take a 50% pay cut on April 15.

NBA players could possibly receive paycheck reductions later this month as the season remains suspended amid the coronavirus pandemic.

According to The Athletic's Shams Charania, the NBA is proposing to the NBPA that players take a 50% reduction in pay starting April 15. However, the NBPA has countered that suggestion with a proposed 25% paycheck reduction in mid-May.

Last month, ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski reported the NBA was planning to pay players their full salaries through April 1 but "left open the option" of withholding pay starting on the 15th. The league was considering enforcing the force majeure provision in the collective bargaining agreement due to missed games and loss in revenue. Force majeure allows a portion of salaries to be withheld during catastrophic circumstances like war, natural disasters and epidemics/pandemics.

ESPN's Bobby Marks reported that NBA players on a payment schedule with 12 installments, which begin on Nov. 15, will have been paid 90% of their salary through the April 1 payments. Those who elected to be paid over the entire calendar year will still be owed a projected 60% of their yearly salary.

On March 11, the NBA suspended its season indefinitely after Jazz center Rudy Gobert tested positive for COVID-19. In the following days, the NHL, MLS and MLB—among other leagues around the world—also suspended or postponed their seasons. The WNBA became the latest U.S. sports league impacted by the virus when it announced Friday the postponement of training camp and its upcoming season. The 2020 season was set to start on May 15.

The NBA and other leagues still don't know when they will return as the coronavirus continues to spread. There are more than 1,083,000 confirmed cases globally, and the U.S. is the country with the most cases in the world with 266,671.