Player bonuses to be severely restricted...
Jul 20, 2005 4:59:42 GMT -5
Post by M. Beaux-Eaux on Jul 20, 2005 4:59:42 GMT -5
Player bonuses to be severely restricted under new NHL pact
By ALLAN MAKI AND TIM WHARNSBY
Wednesday, July 20, 2005 Updated at 5:01 AM EDT
From Wednesday's Globe and Mail
Like the Kansas City Scouts, the one-skate-in-the-crease rule and Rick Dudley's headbands, player contracts laden with rich bonuses are about to become part of the National Hockey League's past.
Under the league's new collective agreement, bonuses will be severely restricted and not just to entry-level players such as Sidney Crosby, the star of this month's lottery draft.
According to several NHL team officials who are still sifting through the new agreement, players will no longer receive team bonuses, money that used to be paid out if a team recorded a specific number of wins or made the playoffs. Individual performance bonuses will be paid to players who have existing contracts (minus the 24-per-cent rollback) but players negotiating new deals will be subjected to limitations.
For example, if a player leads the league in scoring or is voted the top goaltender, he will receive a bonus payment from the NHL. The standardized bonus money would not count against the individual team's cap of $39-million (all figures U.S.) but would instead count against the league-wide cap that guarantees 54 per cent of all revenue to the players.
The value of the bonus payments has not been released but it is certain that players will have to be among the best in the league to receive any money.
"You can't be the top scorer on your team or the best defenceman to collect," one NHL source said. "Those days are gone. You have to be a high-end player."
There are exceptions for individual performance bonuses. Any player 35 or older on a one-year contract can receive a bonus, as can a player with 400 games of NHL experience who spent 100 days on the injured list the previous year. Those bonuses will count against the team's cap.
"Our interpretation [of the new agreement] is that we're not going to have team or individual bonuses," a team official said. "It's not just cleaner that way; it has to do with the cap. You bonus a guy for scoring 30 goals and he scores 30, you have to pay him and that could put you over."
To prevent teams from circumventing the $39-million cap, there are regulations against renegotiations, cash sales, reimbursements, options and revisions. Teams cannot say to a player, "Buy a house and we'll pay you for it." Side deals cannot be redirected through a team's minor-league affiliate, either.
As for entry-level players, they can receive a signing bonus of no more than 10 per cent (i.e. if a player receives $850,000 a season, he would be paid $85,000 for signing). After that, the maximum amount a player can pocket from his team through performance bonuses is $212,500 a year.
The NHL in its new world order will also do away with option years on contracts. A three-year deal will be a fixed term. Several NHL sources said it's likely that both the players and their teams would want to sign short-term deals rather than lock into anything beyond three years.
"Everything that's done now is going to be tied to the league cap and the team's cap," a source said. "The players aren't going to be getting $20,000 just for showing up at training camp."
- tinyurl.com/cj2rx
By ALLAN MAKI AND TIM WHARNSBY
Wednesday, July 20, 2005 Updated at 5:01 AM EDT
From Wednesday's Globe and Mail
Like the Kansas City Scouts, the one-skate-in-the-crease rule and Rick Dudley's headbands, player contracts laden with rich bonuses are about to become part of the National Hockey League's past.
Under the league's new collective agreement, bonuses will be severely restricted and not just to entry-level players such as Sidney Crosby, the star of this month's lottery draft.
According to several NHL team officials who are still sifting through the new agreement, players will no longer receive team bonuses, money that used to be paid out if a team recorded a specific number of wins or made the playoffs. Individual performance bonuses will be paid to players who have existing contracts (minus the 24-per-cent rollback) but players negotiating new deals will be subjected to limitations.
For example, if a player leads the league in scoring or is voted the top goaltender, he will receive a bonus payment from the NHL. The standardized bonus money would not count against the individual team's cap of $39-million (all figures U.S.) but would instead count against the league-wide cap that guarantees 54 per cent of all revenue to the players.
The value of the bonus payments has not been released but it is certain that players will have to be among the best in the league to receive any money.
"You can't be the top scorer on your team or the best defenceman to collect," one NHL source said. "Those days are gone. You have to be a high-end player."
There are exceptions for individual performance bonuses. Any player 35 or older on a one-year contract can receive a bonus, as can a player with 400 games of NHL experience who spent 100 days on the injured list the previous year. Those bonuses will count against the team's cap.
"Our interpretation [of the new agreement] is that we're not going to have team or individual bonuses," a team official said. "It's not just cleaner that way; it has to do with the cap. You bonus a guy for scoring 30 goals and he scores 30, you have to pay him and that could put you over."
To prevent teams from circumventing the $39-million cap, there are regulations against renegotiations, cash sales, reimbursements, options and revisions. Teams cannot say to a player, "Buy a house and we'll pay you for it." Side deals cannot be redirected through a team's minor-league affiliate, either.
As for entry-level players, they can receive a signing bonus of no more than 10 per cent (i.e. if a player receives $850,000 a season, he would be paid $85,000 for signing). After that, the maximum amount a player can pocket from his team through performance bonuses is $212,500 a year.
The NHL in its new world order will also do away with option years on contracts. A three-year deal will be a fixed term. Several NHL sources said it's likely that both the players and their teams would want to sign short-term deals rather than lock into anything beyond three years.
"Everything that's done now is going to be tied to the league cap and the team's cap," a source said. "The players aren't going to be getting $20,000 just for showing up at training camp."
- tinyurl.com/cj2rx
