The Los Angeles Lakers and 21 other NBA teams will resume the 2019-20 season at ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex in Orlando on July 31.
The Lakers, who currently are atop the Western Conference, are one of the frontrunners to win the NBA title.
However, before the league’s focus shifts to the playoffs, the Lakers reportedly will make $12 million during the final eight regular season games because of their regional sport network deal.
“There’s this financial bonus now, too,” The Athletic’s Sam Amick wrote. “Sources say the eight regular season games being played will all count toward each team’s regional sports network television deals as well. For teams that have the most lucrative arrangements, such as the Lakers, this is a very big deal.
“To wit: Sources say the Lakers pull in approximately $1.5 million per game from their RSN deal with Spectrum SportsNet, meaning they’ll recoup $12 million from those games in all while losing an estimated $8 million because the schedule won’t be completed.
“As I wrote in March of 2019, the first round is a bigger money-maker for teams than the last three rounds because teams still hold local television and radio rights before yielding in the second round. For league-wide perspective, one of the lower-end RSN deals that I’ve heard of pays approximately $200,000 per game.”
While NBA teams are still going to lose money due to the league’s hiatus, the new format allows them to recoup some of that revenue before heading to the playoffs.
For Los Angeles, the focus remains on the postseason as it attempts to bring home yet another championship.
