i'm going to combine two of my common messages -- a tip o' the hat to a good manager and my seasonal complaint about the mysterious benefits of winning in the playoffs -- with a shout-out to TnT.
i don't think anyone starts the season aiming for fifth, but i do get the feeling in the recent couple of weeks TnT decided to go for the Cup and fifth. As a strategy for gathering cash, he has played his cards well:
-- closed the season's last week with two home games -- $1 million+ in revenues
-- can win $350,000 for the Cup
-- by finishing fifth, saves 1.5 times his team salary of $669,000, which is another million.
that last figure is the key one: $1 million for fifth place.
for the playoff teams, the following scenario:
-- lose a game: $280,000+ for the gate, save a week's salary ($700,000)
-- win then lose conference championship: $560,000+ for the gate, plus save the week's salary
-- for Tucumcari and someone else, first week of playoffs is normal profit -- for most teams, under $100,000. second week, $100,000 for weekly profit (no break on salary), $400,000 for winniing, $200,000 for losing. Bottom line: NBBA champ gets maybe $600,000, runner-up, maybe $400,000. the boost in gate revenues the following season is dribbled out each game, which is not the same as cash-in-hand.
i figure the fifth-place team and the three playoff teams get $1 million or more, the NBBA champ perhaps 60% of that, and the second-place team less than half. that silver trophy is pretty expensive.
