NBA commissioner Adam Silver has agreed to a contract extension through the 2023-24 NBA season, the league announced via press release on Wednesday. Board of Governors Larry Tanenbaum announced the signing of the five-year deal. The financial terms of the agreement were not released.
Silver, 56, began as commissioner in the 2014 season where he took over the position from David Stern after serving as NBA deputy commissioner. Silver has held several positions in the league since he joined the NBA in 1992.
Silver, in his time as commissioner, has guided the league into a new space financially and globally. The league has seen a notable increase in value as the worth of all 30 teams is over $60 billion.
His part in the negotiations of a new collective bargaining agreement with the National Basketball Players Association in 2016 led to a deal that extends labor peace into the 2024 NBA season. The NBA’s massive $24 billion television and media rights deal, which aided in the significant increase in players’ salaries, was helped along mainly under the sight of Silver in 2014.
The league has expanded its brand into technology with Silver continually looking for ways to advance the game into new sectors. The NBA is the only league with its own eSports league – the NBA 2k League has been a considerable success under Silver this past season.
The NBA also orchestrated a distribution deal with Japanese media company Rakuten this past season.
The NBA under Silver has become a league where its players and coaches have found confidence in speaking out against injustice and human rights issues as well. Silver, in his very first season as commissioner, made a statement with his handling of former Los Angeles Clippers owner Donald Sterling and the leak of the owner’s racist remarks about players in the league.
