Quote:
Originally Posted by iggy_oi
Does the percentage of how much salary is held back in escrow increase if they use the escalator?
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Yes.
Players get 50% of HRR. Period.
But HRR isn't known until after the season. So it is estimated. And then the NHLPA has the choice of whether to apply the escalator (which they always do). And the greater the escalator, the more that needs to be withheld.
Escrow is the mechanism that ensures that players don't get overpaid - because history shows us that if you overpay people, they tend to not be very keen about giving it back. So escrow says: we will withhold a percentage of your salary until we know exactly what your salary should be. Then, if your actual salary is less than what was projected, we deduct the difference and give you your portion. If it is more, you'll get all of it plus a top up to get you to where you need to be.
But in the players' eyes, they see it as: I was supposed to get that money, but then I only got some of it. Because they don't understand how it works.
If I was a player, I would vote against the escalator every year. I want the cap to be lower so that teams don't overpay. I want to find out at the end of the year that my $3M is actually $3.1M, not $2.9M
But few seem to be able to grasp how it functions.