Employees who have logged 10 years with the NBA are eligible for the sabbatical benefit. If they stick around another 10 years, they get eight weeks off. None of the sabbatical leave counts towards regular vacation time.
"I call working at the league a way of life. You have to love it, be part of it and accept it as a way of life," says Eric Hutcherson, head of HR. "But at the 10-year point, it's a good time to believe that now is the time to recharge, reinvigorate, recommit and re-decide."
Since the program's inception in 2015, more than 100 employees have signed up. "There was a time when people were reluctant to take it, now people are looking forward and planning for it," Hutcherson said.