NBA Age Limit Not A Sports Specific Policy
The NBA age limit debate is back and in full force. Adam Silver recently made comments related to the limit being raised according to Yahoo:
"Recently, new’ish NBA commissioner Adam Silver mused aloud in an interview with Gentleman’s Quarterly about the potential for raising the league’s age limit from 19 to either 20 or 21 years of age. The change would come when the league’s owners and players attempt to hammer out a collective bargaining agreement in 2017, as Silver noted that the league’s owners only shelved previous plans to raise the age limit (which was agreed upon in 2005) because it wanted to resolve the ongoing lockout with alacrity."
It makes sense for Silver, worried about the quality of play on the court, to want to limit the young, undeveloped talent in the league. Players currently have 3 options coming out of high school: 1) College for at least a season, 2) Play overseas for at least a season and get paid decent money or 3) Play in the NBA D-League for less money.
The NBA Players’ Association does not seem to keen on changing the rule as later in the Yahoo article PA President Michele Roberts makes it clear they want no part of that:
"“I’m adamantly opposed to [raising the age minimum],” Roberts said. “I’ve been practicing law for 30 years. One of the beauties of being in that job is that I can practice until I lose my mind or die. That is not the case with athletes. You have a limited life to make money as a basketball player. Anything that limits those opportunities is distressing to me. I view [the age minimum] as just another device that serves to limit a players’ ability to make a living.”"
Roberts makes a good point and is not alone in her belief. Even today on ESPN radio the hosts talked about how ridiculous even the 1 year rule is. The NBA has every right to deny players to play in their league, as they are a private league with their set of rules. Those rules are collectively bargained and extending the NBA Age Limit would have to be a part of the new CBA. Just as the new CBA allowed the institution of the One and Done rule, the Cleveland Cavaliers may not have LeBron James the first time around if that rule was around when he graduated high school.
Yet the age limit issue is not NBA specific, both the NFL and MLB have rules governing when players can come into their leagues. The NFL requires a player to be three years removed from high school while MLB allows a player to either come on right out of high school or, if the players goes to school, after three years of college.
The issue here isn’t even limited to sports. Most careers have different limitations, some are regulated by the government, others are related to certificates or licenses and still others are related to experience and degrees. Companies decide what they value and require for their employees based on what is best for their business.
Minors are not allowed to work certain hours and are limited to how many hours they may work. Other jobs/careers require passing certificate or license tests before you can get a job. Still others require a degree, of a certain amount of years and a certain educational focus, in order to be qualified for a position. Look at many job descriptions and you will find “Experience Required” listed among the details.
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The NBA, just like my employer, and likely your employer, has the ability to limit the pool of employees that they will hire from. They do this because they believe those requirements make for the best employees for their company. There have been times each of us could have been hired, and done a great job, but were not hired because we did not meet the minimum requirements for the job.
Roberts notes that NBA players’ careers are very limited, not like her’s in law, and that makes situations different. She is right, to some extent, but that doesn’t change the NBA, and Adam Silver’s, responsibility to set rules in place that are best for their company. Just like NBA players, all workers careers are limited. I was required to get a Master’s Degree to practice as a counselor in my current setting. Four years of undergrad and three years of graduate school, plus passing a number of school and state tests, delayed me getting into my career.
So while the NBA Age Limit is an interesting discussion, and likely to be a very important part of CBA negotiations, it isn’t limited only to the NBA. It isn’t limited to just sports in general. Instead it is a discussion that is universal in the American economic system.
What do you think about the NBA Age Limit discussion?