NHL employees to take up to 25% pay cut as league remains idle
With play still suspended because of the coronavirus pandemic, the league is cutting back. But a source said there will be a salary “floor” in which employees cannot have their pay drop below a certain point.
The NHL said it will temporarily cut the pay of league office employees by as much as 25 percent, starting April 1.
A source said there will be a salary “floor” in which employees cannot have their pay drop below a certain point.
The pay cuts will affect a large group of NHL employees, from executives to writers to other staff members.
“Everybody above a certain pay threshold” will be affected, said Bill Daly, the NHL’s deputy commissioner, in a text to The Inquirer.
ESPN was first to report the pay cuts.
According to the SportsBusiness Journal, Gary Bettman, the NHL commissioner, had an annual salary of at least $9.6 million in 2013-14. During the 2015-16 season, he signed a new contract through 2022.
Bettman has said he wants the players to self-isolate during the season’s current pause in action.
On Tuesday, the NHL instructed players and teams’ staff members to extend their period of self-quarantine by another 10 days because of the spread of the coronavirus.
The league suspended its season on March 12 because of the coronavirus outbreak. The NHL’s 31 teams have played between 68 and 71 games of the 82-game regular season.
NHL officials are hopeful the regular season can resume at some point. One proposal the league has discussed is resuming the regular season in early July, starting the playoffs late that month and running them into late September.