The pandemic has impacted so many sports it's not even funny. Everything from MMA to cricket
has taken some sort of financial hit; but we are going to take a deep dive into the world of
hockey. So, as we know, having no fans in the stands has drained the pockets of the owners like
a well in a heatwave. As a result the salary cap has blundered. Lack of funds equals a lack of
teams allowed to spend.
With that being said, this begs the question, "how much did the NHL lose without fans?". Glad
you asked because I have the answers. According to the Athletic teams bring in on average
$1.5 million to $3 million per game. I have a hard time believing this considering the Florida
Panthers struggled to get people in the arena (disregarding this year since they are dominant).
Legit, at one point $25 CAD would get a fan two tickets, two hot dogs and two beers. Also, there
are always struggling markets in hockey. Most notably The Arizona Coyotes notoriously lose
money every season, so much so, that Glendale no longer wants them in the city!
So, looking at this information and averaging that each team brings $1.5 million per home game
(regular season), that means with 41 home games, each team makes around $65.5 million.
With the salary cap being $81.5 million, this number looks scary. How can a team reach that cap without making that much money?
Well, there is a trick called sponsorships. For fun, let's add the teams together; with 32 teams, the NHL makes $1.98 Billion a year (again, only based on
regular season). In 2019, it was reported that the NHL made $4.4 Billion dollars in revenue;
that's with TV rights, ticket sales and various other sponsorships.
Basically, the NHL is fine with no fans (thank you sponsors and tv deals), and Gary Bettman
needs to learn how to manage money.
Comments