Escrow tops NHL players' list of concerns ahead of CBA talks

[doniceage]

Jonathan Toews says he just wants his contract to be worth what it says on paper.

Right now, it's not that simple.

Under terms of the collective bargaining agreement, NHL owners and players divide hockey-related revenue 50/50, and if player salaries exceed that split a certain percentage is withheld in escrow to make it even. The Chicago Blackhawks captain and fellow players have lost upward of 10% of their pay to escrow over the past seven seasons, which is why 25 of 31 NHL Players' Association representatives surveyed by The Associated Press and Canadian Press named escrow as the biggest bargaining issue with September deadlines looming to terminate the c

https://beatricedailysun.com/sports/...9f4616c78.html

[Rraincock]

saved..... for the end of the contract? When do they get paid out?

seems.... fishier than the Frasier River at the peak of the Salmon run!

[30ranfordfan]

I don't understand how it could work without escrow.

I will make up numbers.....

League projects revenues to be 5 billion dollars (made up, by me, for this post).
Players get half of that - 2.5 billion (the 50-50 split is real).

2.5 billion / 31 teams = 80.645 million per team (i.e. THE CAP)
Floor is 16 million less than the Cap (I *THINK* that's correct)

Teams can spend between 64.6 million, and 80.6 million (roughly).

Let's say the average team spends 74 million (MADE UP FOR THIS!). That's 74 x 31 = 2.294 billion

Players lose 10% to escrow, so only 2.0646 billion paid out

There ends up being about 230 million in the escrow pool at the end of the year. Players are supposed to get that back if revenues met projections (i.e. the cap was the correct numbers) but if the revenues were 4.5 billion instead of 5 - they lose that escrow to keep the numbers at 50-50.

I thought that most years, they got most of the escrow back - just not always.

Of course I see why they don't like it..... but it's the deal the signed back in '04.

[doniceage]

Sean, thanks for putting it out there! Makes total sense.

Don

[30ranfordfan]

The part I'm hazzy on though, is what happens if compensation isn't high enough?

Project 5 billion in revenues, and the players get their 2.5...... but if revenues jump to 5.2, I'm not sure how the league compensates for the extra.

I'm pretty sure that the "cap" and the "projections" are done at levels were that never happens (they always overshoot) - but not sure.

Sean, thanks for putting it out there! Makes total sense.

Don