NBA commissioner Adam Silver said the NBA may consider subsidizing college athletes in an effort to keep them in school longer.
At the Brooklyn Nets and Barclays Center Partner Summit, Silver said he was willing to work with the NCAA to fund college athletes should the NBA draft age limit rise from 19 to 20 years old.
The new commissioner made his case for a higher draft age limit during NBA All Star weekend in February, saying more mature players would make a better league.
However, for collegiate athletes, one more year in school means one more year without a paycheck. Following University of Connecticut’s big win against Kentucky for the NCAA championship, UConn guard Shabazz Napier called out the NCAA.
The senior’s message resonated with those watching as he shared with the world how some nights he went hungry because he couldn’t afford food.
“Rather than focusing on a salary and thinking of them as employees, I would go to their basic necessities,” Silver said during Wednesday’s event, reports ESPN. “I think if Shabazz Napier is saying he is going hungry, my God, it seems hard to believe, but there should be ample food for the players.”
Silver said this needs “to be a three-way conversation.”
“You heard college administrators at press conferences around the [NCAA] tournament say that it’s the NBA’s problem or the union is putting up resistance. It’s a more complex problem than that.”
Follow Carrie Healey on Twitter @CarrieHeals.