Return to 2002: Freestyle Superstar

Chapter 498 Using the NBA as a reference (4K)

Chen Ran first withdrew from the grass court season, and then criticized the French Open for being too low in prize money, and wanted to fight for the interests of tennis players.

This year's French Open has just come to an end, but he has made breaking news one after another.

Immediately afterwards, Safin, Roddick, Wawrinka and other famous tennis players also jumped out to express their support for Chen Ran's point of view.

In an instant, Chen Ran has become a true leader in men's professional tennis.

Many players even outside the top 100 in the world said: "Although Chen Ran's number of Grand Slams has not yet caught up with Agassi, I think he is the number one player currently!"

This time, almost everyone was convinced by Chen Ran.

Similarly, Chen Ran also broke many foreign athletes' stereotypes about Chinese athletes.

They are not all the kind of people who don't have anything to do with themselves.

Soon, the French Open organizing committee responded.

In fact, for the French, it is not a new thing for employees to clamor for a salary increase, so it is normal for tennis players to complain that the French Open bonuses are too low and the tax rate is too high.

The only surprise was that the leader turned out to be a Chinese.

This is really a long time coming.

Of course, these French people also know Chen Ran, and they must not look at him the same way they usually look at other Chinese athletes.

This person never plays by the rules.

This time, the French once again showed off their Tai Chi skills.

"Chen Ran's proposal is very good and we will seriously consider it."

"We can understand the anxiety of those players who are not in the first or second round, we understand it very much."

"Don't worry, we will definitely increase the bonus next year."

However, the French Open organizing committee did not reveal how much bonuses it would increase, and how much of the tournament income it planned to distribute to the players.

This made many players very dissatisfied. They felt that the French Open organizing committee was taking a slow-down strategy again, and then they began to bombard them one after another.

Like the NBA, there is a collective bargaining agreement that stipulates in black and white how much of the income players can take away.

For example, in Europe's top football leagues, due to fierce competition, most clubs can only offer high salaries to players, and very few teams can truly make a profit.

But tennis is different. The four Grand Slam tournaments are really too profitable. Moreover, these four tournaments are in the same league, with offensive and defensive alliances. How much bonuses are given to players depends entirely on their conscience.

Although the prize money varies between different events, the deviation is not large.

Before Chen Ran was about to leave Paris, Wawrinka suddenly found him.

Just like in his previous life, this guy really rushed ahead.

It's just that Wawrinka's bombardment of the four Grand Slams in his previous life happened late in his career.

This time, everything changed because of the butterfly effect caused by Chen Ran.

"Chen, I am very disappointed with Roger. I will never form a doubles team with him in my life." Wawrinka said angrily.

"Dude, what's going on?" Chen Ran looked at Varinka's red face and asked in confusion.

Federer sometimes pays too much attention to his elegant image, so he often chooses to avoid talking about things that require tit-for-tat.

Whether it was Agassi's methamphetamine incident or the players' joint protest against the French Open bonuses, he did not speak out.

Because he has eaten enough and made a lot of money, he is not willing to take any risks.

On the contrary, Djokovic, who was born in a working-class family, is better able to understand the difficulties faced by players at the bottom, so when he reached the top of the world, he has been working hard to promote bonus guarantees for players at the bottom.

Of course, this is just Chen Ran's impression from his previous life.

Looking at the indignant Wawrinka in front of him, he didn't know what Federer said that made him so excited.

"Roger asked me not to get involved in this matter, and even asked me to withdraw from the possible players' alliance!"

Wawrinka complained with dissatisfaction, "He even said that if I do this, I may be targeted by the ATP, saying that I am different from you."

After all, Chen Ran has attention, commercial value, and the ability to dominate professional tennis, so the ATP does not dare to do anything to him, so it can only use you as a punching bag.

Perhaps Federer means well, but Wawrinka, who is naturally rebellious, is unhappy.

You kid looks down on people, right?
I am very confident in my own strength!

Wawrinka also feels that he, Chen Ran and Nadal, are among the top three players born after 85, representing the future of tennis. The ATP does not dare to punish Chen Ran, nor does it dare to punish him.

The Swiss brother was jealous of himself and deliberately made things difficult for him because he refused to play doubles with him.

"Stanislas, don't get excited."

Chen Ran smiled and patted his doubles partner on the shoulder, "You are an adult now. You can make the decision yourself. Follow your own inner thoughts and don't listen to anyone else's opinions."

"Yes, you are right!" Wawrinka nodded seriously, "I am an adult and not Roger's child. Why should he point fingers at me?"

"He won both Grand Slams while you were absent. What's so proud about!"

He continued to say unconvinced: "When I win a Grand Slam in the future, let's see how proud he is."

While speaking, Wawrinka suddenly realized something and suddenly laughed at himself: "It's strange to say that we are discussing boycotting the Grand Slam, but at the same time we are dreaming about winning the Grand Slam one day. This is quite contradictory."

"Ha, this is not a contradiction." Chen Ran smiled and shook his head, "NBA players will also go on strike, but it does not affect their dream of winning the championship trophy."

"You make sense." Wawrinka heard this and immediately gave a thumbs up.

For some reason, he found that Chen Ran liked to use the NBA as an example.

As a Swiss, he actually has no interest in the NBA, which is full of black uncles.

In fact, only Chen Ran knows how rich the NBA will be in the future, once becoming the richest league in the world.

At the time when Chen Ran was reborn, NBA contracts had exploded to such an extent that athletes in other sports were stunned, and of course envied.

To give the simplest example, in 2023 Djokovic won three Grand Slam championships, a Grand Slam runner-up, a year-end championship, and several Masters championships.

His annual bonus also reached a record $1500 million.

But what level does this $1500 million put in the NBA? It’s just the salary level of the third or fourth player on a team.

But Djokovic's bonus record is rare. He can't get such a high bonus every year, but the third or fourth player on an NBA team may have such a bonus in consecutive years in the future. Guaranteed salary.

The gap is huge!

As for off-court income such as commercial endorsements, Djokovic may be able to surpass most NBA players, but this has nothing to do with game bonuses. "Stanislas, listen."

Chen Ran said very seriously: "I know you may not be interested in the NBA, but pay more attention to the European football leagues. But the gap between the rich and the poor in the European leagues is too big, especially after the Bosman Act. Every year there are many The ball will go bankrupt."

"Even among the big clubs in the five major leagues, not too many have gone bankrupt and been relegated."

"So I suggest you learn more about the NBA's salary system and player protections. Believe me, this will benefit tennis."

Seeing that Chen Ran was so serious, Wawrinka nodded firmly.

"Whether it's Marat or Andy, I would say this. Andy is an American and he should know more about the NBA. And... if you want to bring other players into the camp, you should also advise them to understand it first. NBA salary system.”

Wawrinka suddenly said: "Chen, you mean that when our players form a league, we will use the NBA's salary system as a reference."

"Yes!" Chen Ran gave a thumbs up, "Yes, we can't just rely on enthusiasm, we must have templates that can be referenced and learned from. Of course, our ultimate goal is not to lose both sides, nor to benefit ourselves at the expense of others, but to win-win. "

"Players and ATP achieve a win-win situation!"

There was something he didn't say.

The NBA and the Players Association engage in labor negotiations every few years, and there will be a strike in the future.

But no matter what, NBA players' income will steadily increase after each labor negotiation, and of course there will be some hidden benefits.

Perhaps the salary systems of the American Football League (NFL) and MLB Baseball (MLB) are also very good and can protect the interests of players very well, but Chen Ran does not understand or have any interest in these two professional leagues, so he can only use the NBA as a model for reference.

For most European players, they don't understand baseball, and they understand that rugby is rugby. Basketball is also popular in Europe, so using the NBA as a reference template is the most appropriate.

"Remember something."

Chen Ran suddenly lowered his voice: "Although NBA players have club contracts and we don't, there is actually no difference between us and them. Do you understand?"

Wawrinka's mind won't turn around for a while.

"They have clubs, but our players are individual entrepreneurs. The difference is quite big!"

Chen Ran shook his head: "We make money working for the ATP and the four Grand Slams, just like they work and make money for the NBA. The NBA is a closed environment, but so is the ATP, which is different from the European Football League ”

The ATP Tour and the four Grand Slams, these are all the tennis tournaments that top players can participate in, and everyone is in this closed environment.

Although the wealthy people in the Middle East will organize exhibition games, it is only a drop in the bucket.

"The most important thing is to ask for an exorbitant price and pay it back on the spot!"

Chen Ran analyzed it carefully: "We took a high profile from the beginning and used the NBA as a model. This was to put pressure on the ATP and let them see our determination."

"The other party will definitely bargain. But because we set the standard high, there will be a lot of room for maneuver."

Wawrinka nodded with deep understanding and kept applauding.

For a somewhat dazed athlete, he admired Chen Ran's brains.

This kind of calculating guy should be allowed to lead their players.

"Listen, we can still put hats on you."

"How to put a hat on it?"

"Football has always been the number one sport in the world, and we can't compare with it. But the ATP has always wanted to promote tennis to the world and make tennis the real second largest ball sport in the world. So who is the biggest competitor?"

"Handball? No!" Wawrinka shook his head decisively, "Volleyball is wrong too, it should be basketball."

In fact, when Wawrinka said the word "handball", Chen Ran's eyebrows couldn't help but jump.

Indeed, handball is very popular in Europe, but like cricket in the Commonwealth countries, it is only a regional sport.

As for volleyball, in China it is entirely supported by the extraordinary performance of the women's volleyball team, while the men's volleyball team is basically ignored.

Volleyball in Europe is quite popular, but the market is still very small. As for the United States, there is not even a volleyball league.

Basketball has professional leagues and intercontinental competitions around the world, including national teams and clubs. Similarly, tennis has tours around the world, and it is also the leading sport for women.

So the second largest ball sport in the world is the competition between tennis and basketball.

But the NBA is a bug. The value created by this professional league alone is beyond the reach of ATP+WTA.

But what if you say the Men's Basketball World Championships? The championship team only has a measly US$10, which is too shabby, almost the same as the ATP 250 champion.

FIBA can only be regarded as a younger brother in front of the NBA, and the most valuable international basketball competition is the Olympic Games rather than the World Championships.

Chen Ran's cunning only talks about the NBA, not the corrupt and incompetent FIBA.

In tennis, the benchmark for your tours and the four Grand Slams is the NBA, not FIBA.

In Chen Ran's words, NBA is equal to basketball.

Since the ATP wants tennis to compete with the world's second largest ball sport, you must compare it with the NBA.

"Chen, you are amazing."

Wawrinka felt that one thumb was not enough, so he immediately stretched out two thumbs.

This level of hating is too great.

Are the ATP guys willing to admit face to face that they are not as good as the NBA?
You must know that in this era, the bonuses of top tennis players are not far away from those of top NBA players.

The annual bonuses of Chen Ran and Federer both exceed tens of millions of dollars, and tens of millions of dollars is considered a high salary in today's NBA.

It’s just that more than ten years later, the NBA’s maximum salary has far widened the gap with the highest bonus for tennis players.

Chen Ran's goal is not to require the bonuses of top tennis players to exceed the salaries of NBA superstars, but to learn from their salary system to protect the vast majority of tennis players.

"Chen, are you really only nineteen years old? You can think of so much!"

"Haha, because I usually pay more attention to the NBA. There are players from our country playing there, so I took a look at their salary system."

Wawrinka was very excited and discussed with Chen Ran to bring in Nadal, Safin, Roddick and others.

Of course, their target group is not only top players, but also some players ranked around 100 in the world.

Everyone has a common purpose and a common program, so that we can take the initiative when negotiating with the ATP.

Sure enough, Wawrinka said when he went back for an interview: "Although football is the number one sport in the world, the NBA is the best league in the world."

Soon, Chen Ran also responded in China: "Basketball? I think basketball represents the future of sports, and the NBA is a model for all professional leagues!"

……

(End of this chapter)