NHL players might not be paid their full salaries this season
NHL players did not receive their final paycheque of the season this past Wednesday.
According to a report from TSN’s Pierre LeBrun, the National Hockey League Players’ Association (NHLPA) has deferred its decision on final cheques until May 15 because of the pandemic, which has put a pause on the season.
NHL players have deferred their decision on the last paycheque until May 15. Sense is this will allow more time for the NHL and NHLPA to figure out if there will be games this season… Players have been debating whether to forgo some or all of the last paycheque to help escrow
— Pierre LeBrun (@PierreVLeBrun) April 18, 2020
NHL players typically receive 13 payments throughout the season, from October to April. Nobody earns more per cheque this season than Toronto Maple Leafs’ Mitch Marner, who is scheduled to make USD $16 million — that’s $1.23 million before taxes and escrow on each cheque.
There’s incentive for players to forgo some or all of the remainder of their last paycheque, because players and owners divide all hockey-related revenue 50/50, with a certain percentage of player salaries put into an escrow pool. Whenever the owners’ share of revenue is below 50%, owners take from escrow to make up the difference at the end of the season.
The Collective Bargaining Agreement between the NHL and NHLPA actually has a provision in place for something like COVID-19, giving owners the ability to negotiate a different salary for players in the event that the league has to suspend or reduce operations due to “a state of war or other cause beyond the control of the league or of the club.”
If the NHL is able to continue its season, it seems likely that games would take place in empty arenas in July and August at a centralized location in Canada or the United States — perhaps one in a sparsely-populated area with low infection rates. So far the league has reportedly received pitches from Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Grand Forks, North Dakota, and Manchester, New Hampshire.
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