NBRA Announces Ratification of Agreement Governing 2020–21 Season

The members of the National Basketball Referees Association (NBRA) have ratified a Letter of Agreement modifying the Referees’ collective bargaining agreement with the NBA for the 2020–21 Season for the principal purpose of addressing operations in the COVID-19 context. The Letter of Agreement provides for the officials’ waiver of certain work rules in order to allow for the implementation of the NBA’s health and safety protocols.

“The NBA has constructed a state of the art program of testing, social distancing, and quarantine, designed to protect the health and safety of all those participating in the coming season,” commented NBRA General Counsel Lee Seham. “For the Referees, that participation is accompanied by the sacrifices that come with social isolation, separation from loved ones, and severe restrictions on mobility. However, we are ready to make that sacrifice. The economic welfare of too many families rests on this being a healthy and successful season. We are confident that it will be.”

The NBRA is proud to join the NBA community in continued commitment to the sport through safety measures in uncertain times and providing the best basketball product to the best fans in the world.