To order You might remember Rice. In the second round, 4 teams earned $3,125,000; in the third round, 3 teams earned $3,750,000; and in the fourth round, 1 team earned $3,437,500 as the Stanley Cup runner-up. I dont imagine that theres much water-cooler talk about the casesLukas Walker v. the WHL, CHL et al and Sam Berg v. the OHL, CHL et al. The average ticket price in Canadas NHL ranges from $51-$96. Do Junior Hockey Players Get Paid? Stickhandling PRO is owned and operated by Mesos Holdings. And minimum-wage pay for players based on a 40-hour week might run to $300,000 a team. With a business selling career-ending disability insurance to the NHL and Canadian Hockey League, Rice didn't want to venture too far from home to pursue his passion. He has a point. Sign up today to get the best features and analysis from the NHL and beyond. There is a need for amendment in the law to review the remuneration of junior hockey players. For instance, the sale of tickets alone can account for substantive revenues. In the world of junior hockey, players are not compensated for their services. The team salary cap was $56.7 million. Mesos Holdings is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com. Press J to jump to the feed. Do hurling players get paid? One single line in the affidavits, though, could provide a means for underwriting minimum wage for players: Cut the CHL education packagesthat is, the prime existing benefit for players. What I think the NHLPA (NHL Players association) has done well for the players is make sure the guys at the bottom get paid well. formId: '620ead33d328ec5152cf088e', You would surmise, therefore, that the financial health of the team in any given year would be based on the revenues it generates, with the team generating far more revenues in years when its competitive than it years that its not. I have some numbers later on. The Cup is even going to get some TV exposure with TSN broadcasting the final (Saturday, 3:30 p.m.). The football team at Northwestern attempted to unionize in 2015 but that went sideways when the U.S. National Labor Relations Board decided to punt the case through the end zone. If you think the CHLs franchise owners benefit from a Dickensian system, every team tantamount to a teen theatre company production of Oliver, then youre pulling for the long-exploited plaintiffs. The Ontario Hockey League (OHL) is one of the three major junior hockey leagues in Canada. Nevertheless, some opine that since the teams they play for are businesses that generate profits, the law should be reviewed to allow junior hockey players to earn a salary. They could adopt a model like Junior A or Tier II and put players on the hook for their equipment, for room, board and transportation. On the other hand, since they are over 16 years, they are not protected by child labour laws. Josh Gresko, founder of TJHP, mentioned on a podcast that playing Junior hockey aided in his progress in life. All rights reserved. Glenn Gumbley attempted to unionize junior hockey players, Stickhandling Pro: What Is the Highest Level of Junior Hockey, Wikipedia: The United States ice hockey structure, Vice: The Fight to Keep Junior Hockey Players From Getting Paid. Press question mark to learn the rest of the keyboard shortcuts. A judge who rules on certification of a class action tests the case on several counts: Is there an identifiable class of people? He lodged a complaint with the Washington Department of Labor and Industries. The Western Hockey League will not have a playoffs system after the 2020-21 season. And in doing so, lets take the league at its word, presuming that the figures in its affidavit give an unmuddied picture of the CHLs finances. Moshe Lander, a Concordia University professor who teaches the economics of sports, reviewed the documents from both sides and found neither to be a fair or persuasive reading of the financial state of the CHL. As for Mongeon, he found it odd that in a business where player costs are fixed and remain fairly constant from team to team, the financial records shows a pattern that the clubs reported negligible accounting profits or losses, regardless of the amount of revenue reported. If the leagueis paying its players a pittance, that means its costs are basically fixed across the board. When players are healthy enough to play in an NHL game, they are paid. He was concerned that for-profit entities that ran the league were contravening state child labour laws and minimum wage laws by paying a mere stipend to the players. If the civil action is thrown out of court, the shape of major-junior hockey in this country will remain the same. For the majority of people, they must uproot their lives and relocate to a new place with an unknown family. In a regular 6-month season, CHL teams play 70+ games. An error has occurred while trying to update your details. Every week, they receive a $50 to $100 stipend. Manage Settings Travel expenses while playing in the league. The next option would be to ask franchise owners to dig deeper in their pockets. These agents dont work for free, of course, and are paid based on the salaries that they negotiate for their clients. The growth of college hockey is also a result of the dedication of NHL teams and players. The consent submitted will only be used for data processing originating from this website. Many universities and colleges offer scholarships to junior hockey players. According to some, there should be an amendment to the law to pay them salaries. Dont be discouraged! After that, it will be decided whether the lawsuit merits classification as a class-action lawsuit, meaning thousands of former players could be included as litigants. At the heart of it all is a lawsuit that has been filed alleging that junior hockey operators should be paying their players at least minimum wage. No player could earn more than $10.06 million. Under the latest NHL Collective Bargaining Agreement, no player could earn more than 20 percent of the team salary cap ($7.8 million). To be NCAA eligible the player at age 16 and 17 has to bide his time while he graduates high school and qualifies academically for college play. To back that up, it provided a financial analysis done by the accounting firm KPMG. Beginning on Wednesday, February 24, CHL Live TV packages will be available for purchase. Lets dive right in. In the coming days, were about to find out that there is some big money out there in junior hockey and not much of it is going to the players. There are a variety of factors that affect the final numbers, but players need to realize that what you see isnt always what you get, and they must plan for their future accordingly. In Canada, junior hockey players are not paid to play. NHL players do not get paid a separate salary for playing in the postseason. The game of junior hockey is a lucrative one, with many people watching the young players grow in their abilities. Mongeon argues its not a matter of spending more money; its simply a matter of allocating revenues where they belong. The physical nature of a professional athlete's job and the risk of injury typically lead players . Lets look at the numbers that the players get paid and the sources of revenue more closely. OReillys affidavit painted a dire picture of the effect of a court-ordered minimum wage for CHL players: I was able to conclude that the implementation of such a policy would put significant financial pressure on the majority of the 42 clubs. According to OReilly, the first option would be to offset the cost of minimum wage for players by cutting expenses. Based on the previous information, the reason for not paying junior hockey players a salary is that they are now exempted from being considered employees by state laws. Answer (1 of 2): they get a pension which is based on 'credited seasons', meaning a season where a player is on an active/inactive roster and/or injured reserve for a minimum of three games. Because Junior hockey is regarded as the first step toward college hockey, all levels of hockey teams should emphasize education in their practices. Enter your email below and we'll send you another email. Create an account to follow your favorite communities and start taking part in conversations. Isnt that impressive? }); link to Understanding high-sticking in hockey: when it is a penalty or stoppage of play, does fairly well with ticket revenue and other sponsorships, quite impressed that the NHL is able to get so much revenue, The NHL has a maximum roster of 23 players, minimum wage for an NHL salary is $750,000. Most skates arrive dull and require sharpening before you try them. [Mongeon, KPMG and OReilly] did what they were asked to do: Find an analysis to support [a] starting positionfor the plaintiffs, what they want [done], and for the defendants, what they dont want to do.. Some of our partners may process your data as a part of their legitimate business interest without asking for consent. "I just kind of felt like I left the game too early," said Rice. No player could earn more than $12.86 million. Eric Lindros ( Philadelphia Flyers) $3.35 million Steve Yzerman ( Detroit Red Wings) $3.2 million Mario Lemieux ( Pittsburgh Penguins) $3 million Wayne Gretzky ( Los Angeles Kings) $3 million So, while junior hockey players in Canada are not paid to play, they do have some financial support. There will be no expenses associated with your participation in the MJHL. Theres not a lot of fat to cut, perhaps, but some gristle can be carved away. Press J to jump to the feed. He argued that junior players were gaining worthwhile interpersonal and athletic life skills as they played in the league. They get awarded a full-year scholarship for every season played, and they also receive a weekly stipend. This support helps them to focus on their studies and their hockey careers. By rejecting non-essential cookies, Reddit may still use certain cookies to ensure the proper functionality of our platform. No player could earn more than $15.9 million. 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