NBA owners voted overwhelmingly to reopen their labor agreement with the players Tuesday, and commissioner David Stern called for immediate talks on a new deal.

The 27-2 vote by the board of governors, which took place at a hotel near the Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport, does not affect this season.

Our goal is to have a successor agreement in place by the time the current agreement expires, NBA deputy commissioner Russ Granik said. Although the league’s revenue growth has been strong, player salaries are climbing much faster than revenues. As a result, the league is becoming unprofitable.

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The NBA is the only U.S. professional sports league that has never lost a game to a work stoppage. National Basketball Players Association director Billy Hunter, hired by players shortly after they signed the last labor deal, was critical of the decision.

It’s unfortunate the owners have chosen to forfeit three years of guaranteed labor peace at a time when the industry is so obviously healthy, he said.

Granik claimed 15 teams more than half the league are expected to lose money this season, a large increase from a few years ago when as few as two teams lost money.

The NBA’s four-year TV deals with NBC and Turner Sports, worth $2.64 billion, start with the 1998-99 season, and the league will receive money the first year even if there is a work stoppage.

Stern and Granik said the league is generating a record $1.7 billion in annual revenue, playing to more than 90 percent of arena capacity with the same strong TV ratings it had last season.

But player salaries are growing faster than revenues Granik cited Kevin Garnett’s $126 million contract with the Minnesota Timberwolves and said an increasing number of teams, as many as six or seven this season, are qualifying for revenue assistance from league coffers.

When the current deal was signed two summers ago, owners agreed to devote between 48 and 51.8 percent of basketball related income to salaries. When the percentage went above 51.8, they gained the right to reopen. The league says that number has now surpassed 57 percent.

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Granik said the league expects to begin negotiations with the players union April 1. He added the league will provide the union with financial information documenting the unprofitability.

If a new agreement cannot be reached and a lockout is imposed, it would bring a halt to all player signings, free agent movement and summer leagues and would prevent teams from having any contact with their players.

A lockout was imposed in summer 1995, ending when the players voted against decertifying their union and accepting the deal.

Gilbert denied free agency

Sean Gilbert, who sat out last season in a money dispute with the Washington Redskins, was denied in his bid to become a free agent Monday night.

Special master Jack Friedenthal ruled Gilbert must remain the designated franchise player for the Redskins, who now will try to trade the defensive tackle for at least a first-round pick in next month’s draft.

The Redskins are pleased that the special master has affirmed

their position under the collective bargaining agreement, a statement released by the team said.

The ruling could also jeopardize a huge payday for Gilbert, who

had attracted offers up to $6 million per year during a recent tour to

several teams, including the Super Bowl champion Broncos, the Carolina Panthers and the Miami Dolphins.

Gilbert and the NFL Players Union argued the Redskins violated

a clause in the collective bargaining agreement that states a club must have a good faith intention to employ a franchise player.

A copy of the ruling was not immediately available. Gilbert has refused to comment on the matter. His agent, Gus Sunseri, did not return telephone calls Monday night.

In a hearing last week before Friedenthal, a dean at the George Washington University Law School, the NFLPA pointed to a statement made by coach Norv Turner in December. Asked if he thought Gilbert would play for the Redskins again, Turner said, I’m probably out of

line to say it. I don’t think that will ever happen.

Then, last month, the Redskins spent $13 million in bonuses to

sign two big-name defensive tackles:free agent Dana Stubblefield and Dan Wilkinson, acquired from Cincinnati for first- and third-round draft picks.

The Redskins contended Turner’s remark was made in frustration the day after he failed to lead the team to a playoff berth for the fourth straight year. Also, general manager Charley Casserly has said the Redskins would be happy to sign Gilbert for its standing tender of $2.882 million, the minimum that can be offered a franchise defensive tackle.

If Gilbert does not want to sign that offer, the Redskins will work with the player to negotiate a trade, the team’s statement said.

The ruling is a huge victory for the Redskins, who probably would have gone without a first-round pick next month had Gilbert been declared a free agent. Now they should be able to negotiate a trade for not only a first-round selection this year, but as much as a third-round choice next year.

The relationship between the Redskins and Gilbert soured early last year, when the Redskins kept him from becoming a free agent by designating him their franchise player for 1997. The Redskins then offered Gilbert a multi-year contract averaging $4 million per year, but Gilbert wanted at least $4.5 million.

Gilbert will likely end up with more than that, as teams such as Carolina appeared ready to enter a bidding war for his services had he become a free agent. Now, any team that wants him must first negotiate a trade with the Redskins.