Junior hockey players make just $250 a month according to lawsuit involving NHL
A lawsuit alleging antitrust violations against the NHL and the three major Canadian junior hockey leagues was filed today.
The lawsuit, which is being co-led by Constantine Cannon LLP and Zelle LLP on behalf of the World Association of Icehockey Players Unions North America Division, alleges that the NHL, alongside the WHL, OHL, and QMJHL, have colluded to exploit major junior players.
Among the plaintiffs are Tanner Gould and Isaiah DiLaura, two former WHL players, the former of which said that teenage players are treated like “disposable objects” by the leagues that are named in the lawsuit.
“It’s time for change within major junior hockey,” said Gould in a statement made by Constantine Cannon LLP. “I’m proud to be a part of this case because I want to make sure that the players coming up after me are protected in a way that I was not.”
NEWS: The NHL, Canadian Hockey League, the three major junior hockey leagues under the CHL umbrella (WHL, QMJHL and OHL) along with each member club are a targets of a federal antitrust lawsuit that alleges a "systematic exploitation and abuse of Major Junior Players." pic.twitter.com/nMYl5SpEOp
— A.J. Perez (@byajperez) February 14, 2024
The lawsuit deals with how the defendants have allegedly agreed to eliminate competition between each of the three Canadian Major Junior leagues (WHL, OHL, QMJHL) by “carving” up parts of Canada and the United States into three distinct sections that each league exclusively drafts from.
This, according to the lawsuit, violates the Sherman Antitrust Act which forbids independent market participants from colluding to relieve competition between each other.
On top of this, the lawsuit also points out concerns related to agreements between the leagues to conduct involuntary drafts and collude to limit player compensations and contract terms after a player is drafted.
It was also brought up that major junior players were paid as low as $250 a month while being separated from their families and, sometimes, traded against their will.
“Player compensation in the WHL is fixed at $250.00 per month,” reads the complaint. “Compensation in the OHL is fixed at $470.00 per month. Player compensation in the QMJHL is similarly fixed at non-competitive levels.”
Teams in the WHL, OHL, and QMJHL play 68 games per season, plus preseason and playoff games. That’s just four games fewer than AHL or ECHL teams.
“By comparison and according to public reports, the average salary in the AHL developmental league is well over $5,000 per month. Likewise, public reports state that the
average salary in the ECHL developmental league exceeds $2,800 per month.”
All these factors are alleged by the lawsuit to “illegally deprived Major Junior Players of freedom of choice, freedom of movement, and freedom to play for the club of their choice, which led to those teenaged Major Junior Players being exposed to economic, physical, psychological, and even sexual abuse.”
The plaintiffs say that this lawsuit is seeking damages in the form of payment for the difference between what major junior players received under this alleged scheme and what their value would be in an unrestrained and competitive market.
“Plaintiffs also seek damages consisting of all monies by which the defendants have been unjustly enriched through the exploitation of Major Junior Players’ names, images, and/or likenesses,” the lawsuit states. “The lawsuit also seeks injunctive relief, prohibiting the defendants from continuing to violate the antitrust laws going forward.”
As of now, the case is pending in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York.