How Much Do NHL Players Make?

How Much Do NHL Players Make? Find out how much NHL players make in salary and bonuses.

httpv://youtu.be/https://www.youtube.com/shorts/PpvXRsawi6E

Introduction

NHL players are some of the highest-paid athletes in the world. The average NHL player salary is $2.9 million per year, but some players make much more than that. The highest-paid NHL player is Sidney Crosby, who makes $12 million per year.

How Much Do NHL Players Make?

The average NHL player will make $2.4 million dollars per year. This is just the average player though, with the top earners making over $10 million dollars per year. So how do NHL salaries compare to other professional athletes?

The Salary Cap

In the National Hockey League, the salary cap is the limit to the total amount of money that a team can spend on player salaries in a given season. The salary cap was instituted by the NHL in 2005 as part of its new collective bargaining agreement with its players. It is a “hard” cap, meaning that there are no exceptions or loopholes that teams can use to get around it.

The salary cap is calculated based on a percentage of league revenues, and it is typically adjusted upwards every year to keep pace with inflation and increases in league revenues. For the 2019-20 season, the salary cap is set at $81.5 million per team.

The Salary Cap Has Led to Increased parity in the NHL

One of the intended effects of the salary cap was to increase parity between NHL teams. Before the salary cap was instituted, there were a few teams that could afford to spend significantly more money on player salaries than other teams. This resulted in those teams having a significant competitive advantage over the rest of the league.

The salary cap has helped to level the playing field somewhat by preventing any one team from having a significant spending advantage over all others. As a result, we’ve seen increased parity in the NHL over the past few years, with more teams having a realistic chance of winning the Stanley Cup each year.

Entry-Level Contracts

Players on entry-level contracts must play fewer than 25 NHL games in a season or fewer than 50 NHL games over the course of two seasons to be eligible for performance bonuses. If a player meets any of those thresholds, his team can choose to pay him up to $850,000 in bonus money in addition to his salary. The bonus is pro-rated based on how many games the player appeared in during the season. For example, if a player played in 10 NHL games during the season, he would be eligible for 10/82nds of the bonus, or $103,659.

There are also several “schedule B” performance bonuses that can be awarded to players on entry-level contracts. These bonuses are based on individual achievements such as being named to the All-Rookie Team or winning the Calder Trophy as the NHL’s rookie of the year. Each of these bonuses is worth $212,500.

Restricted Free Agents

Restricted free agents (RFAs) are players who have completed their entry-level or sophomore contracts, and thus have received automatic qualifying offers from their respective teams. However, the player and team may still negotiate a new contract, with the team having the option of matching any outside offers (hence the “restricted” tag). If the team elects not to match an offer sheet, it may receive draft-pick compensation from the signing team, depending on the monetary value of the offer.

Unrestricted Free Agents

The NHL has a hard salary cap of $81.5 million per team for the 2019-20 season. This means that each team can have no more than $81.5 million in salary committed to their players for the season. However, there are a few exceptions to this rule.

One exception is for players who are signed to two-way contracts. A two-way contract means that the player will make one salary if they play in the NHL and a different salary if they are sent down to play in the AHL (American Hockey League). For example, a player might make $700,000 if they play in the NHL and $300,000 if they play in the AHL.

Another exception is for players who are signed to entry-level contracts. Entry-level contracts are typically for players who are just starting their careers and are not yet established NHL players. These contracts have very specific rules about how much money the player can make and how long the contract can be for. For example, an entry-level contract might cap a player’s salary at $925,000 per year and last for three years.

Finally, there is an exception for veterans who have been in the NHL for 10 or more years. These veterans can have their salaries exempt from the $81.5 million salary cap if they meet certain criteria, such as being voted to the All-Star Game or winning certain awards.

So, while there is a hard salary cap of $81.5 million per team, there are some players who will make more than that amount due to these exceptions.

Conclusion

NHL players are some of the most highly paid athletes in the world. The average NHL player salary is $3.5 million per year, with the top players earning much more. Although most players will never earn anywhere near the highest salaries, they can still expect to make a very good living playing professional hockey.