Beijing could claim half of Ming’s salary
By MARTIN FACKLER
Associated Press

SHANGHAI, China — Yao Ming will have a big partner in his NBA career — the Chinese government.

Under regulations issued by the China Basketball Association, the 7-foot-5 Yao would be forced to hand over half of his income to China’s government and sports authorities.

The regulations also include complicated procedures for Chinese professional players seeking to play overseas, according to Wednesday’s Shanghai Morning Post.

The newspaper criticized the regulations as “complicating and confusing Yao Ming’s NBA prospects.”

Yao, a center, is considered a probable lottery pick and possible top-three selection in the June 26 NBA draft.

Yao’s current team, the Shanghai Sharks, finally gave him permission Friday to enter the NBA draft after blocking him for years.

“I’ve already had many frustrations,” the newspaper quoted Yao as saying. “A few more won’t break me.”

The Yangzi Evening News, a Hangzhou-based newspaper, reported Thursday that the new regulations would not affect Yao’s plans.

It quoted China Basketball Association assistant director Hu Jia as saying his organization “has always supported Yao Ming’s joining the NBA draft.”

As a high draft pick and likely number-one pick, Yao would be likely to receive at least $2 million in his first year and even bigger contracts in years to follow.

That’s a big jump for a 22-year-old Yao, whose parents now ride to and from his games on bicycles.

But Chinese professional players like Yao will only be allowed to keep half of all earnings under the new regulations, which cover endorsements as well as salaries.

The rules state that players overseas must give 30 percent of all professional earnings to the China Basketball Association — China’s state-run equivalent of the NBA.

Government agencies will take another 20 percent, the Shanghai Morning Post said.

It is unclear whether this must be handed over to China before or after paying U.S. taxes.

It also was unclear whether these regulations were new or merely formalized existing practices.

Thursday’s Beijing Times reported athletes overseas already pay half their income to the government. Two Chinese players are already in the NBA — Dallas Mavericks forward Wang Zhizhi and Denver Nuggets center Menk Bateer.

Beijing routinely requires other citizens — from engineers to concert pianists — to turn over large chunks of what they earn abroad.

The newly issued regulations also require professional players to be ready to return to China at any time, ostensibly to join the national team. They can also be punished for revealing the national team’s plays and strategies.

Violators will be banned from the national team and from all domestic play in China for at least one year, the Shanghai Morning Post said.

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