The so-called escrow fee is that 10% of an NBA player's salary is put into an escrow account, and if the player's total salary represents more than 55% of NBA basketball-related revenue, the money goes to the league.
The NBA stipulates that players have a salary trusteeship in their salaries, which is to ensure that both parties receive a 50-50 income. Typically, 10 percent of a player's salary goes into an escrow account, which is returned to the player if he does not earn half of the league's revenue.
If a player earns more than half of the league's revenue, then the money in the escrow account is returned to the owner on a pro rata basis to ensure that the player earns 50 percent of the league's revenue.