When will next season start? Return to Play Negotiations

[KootenayFlamesFan]

So a number of players on both Vegas and Columbus have COVID. I don’t see the season starting up any time soon.

[transplant99]

Originally Posted by Locke

The Thread Title should be changed to "Will Next Season Start?"

Yep.

With the virus exploding on both sides of the border, and players/coaches being human and not exempt from it, I have a hard time believing this will be a go anytime soon.

They should just wait until things settle down....likely March or so, and then just play through the summer again.

With a vaccine starting to be distributed to the public in a couple months, they may even be able to have decent sized crowds by waiting which will increase HRR and make both the owners and players a lot more comfortable.

I do wonder though of there are a few franchises that are nearing life support and want things to start sooner to get what revenue there will be into the coffers sooner.

Also there is the whole Olympic thing standing out there and NBC may refuse to show games during that time which would put a big crimp in such a plan.

So much to deal with.

[albertGQ]

But with the exploding numbers, is there any rumblings of the NBA postponing their start? Will the NFL be on pause?

If not, why would these numbers affect only the NHL but not the other two leagues?

Serious question.

[powderjunkie]

I wonder if they should just try to do a big Canada Cup tournament in May/June, and then resume their normal calendar in the fall. I'm not sure when Euro leagues wrap up?

This would be the bang for your buck solution.

Originally Posted by albertGQ

But with the exploding numbers, is there any rumblings of the NBA postponing their start? Will the NFL be on pause?

If not, why would these numbers affect only the NHL but not the other two leagues?

Serious question.

Neither league is as gate-driven as the NHL.

[Erick Estrada]

Originally Posted by albertGQ

But with the exploding numbers, is there any rumblings of the NBA postponing their start? Will the NFL be on pause?

If not, why would these numbers affect only the NHL but not the other two leagues?

Serious question.

NBA makes enough money from TV revenue on it's own to pay player salaries and more. For them at least it may be worth it to give it a go.

[SilverKast]

Originally Posted by albertGQ

But with the exploding numbers, is there any rumblings of the NBA postponing their start? Will the NFL be on pause?

If not, why would these numbers affect only the NHL but not the other two leagues?

Serious question.

NHL broadcast revenues are something like $200 million annually while NBA is around $2.5 billion. NFL is even higher still so the NHL still relies heavily on gate revenue in comparison to the other 2 leagues.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sports...%9321%20season.

[nfotiu]

Originally Posted by SilverKast

NHL broadcast revenues are something like $200 million annually while NBA is around $2.5 billion. NFL is even higher still so the NHL still relies heavily on gate revenue in comparison to the other 2 leagues.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sports...%9321%20season.

There is close to a billion dollars annually in local NHL TV deals, and the Rogers Canadian deal is around 400-500 million. Total NHL TV dollars are probably in the 1.5-2 billion range.

[Bingo]

Guessing they'll have no choice but to push things back or kill it two weeks from now

https://twitter.com/user/status/1331286193875640322

[SilverKast]

Originally Posted by nfotiu

There is close to a billion dollars annually in local NHL TV deals, and the Rogers Canadian deal is around 400-500 million. Total NHL TV dollars are probably in the 1.5-2 billion range.

The best way to look at it is on a per team basis, especially comparing cross league. Bingo had the NHL info that he posted somewhere a while back I think. Not sure on specifics, but at any rate the NHL is nowhere close to the NBA or NHL when you look at it. Which is why they're so much more dependent upon gate revenues.

[FlamesAddiction]

That air traffic map is horrifying. It's like watching a disaster play out in slow motion.

[Scroopy Noopers]

Originally Posted by Bingo

Guessing they'll have no choice but to push things back or kill it two weeks from now

https://twitter.com/user/status/1331286193875640322

The follow up tweet is illuminating:

Percentage of total worldwide flights tracked appearing in each image above:

2018: 46%
2019: 49%
2020: 65%

[rohara66]

Merica!

[Monahammer]

Gotta protect our Freedom!


Freedom to kill gramma and grandpa with disease after yelling at them over the election results.

No doubt in my mind 90% of these aren't even anti maskers and do believe in the pandemic's reality... they are also just narcissists who are firmly in the "but it could never happen to me" camp. I meet many of these on a daily basis. It is actually a miracle that we haven't been stamped out by disease before, the majority of people on earth are incredibly stupid. Im an atheist but this is the most convincing argument for a higher power in my mind. How the F have we survived this long otherwise.

[Sidney Crosby's Hat]

Originally Posted by iggy_oi

I didn’t hear the interview but if Friedman thinks there is a mechanism within this MOU that guarantees the players and owners will have a 50/50 split during the life of this CBA extension he’s mistaken. The MOU itself even has a clause to add an additional season if the players have made between $125M and $250M more than what the 50/50 split would have been throughout this extension.

In other words if the league has made at least within $125M of or over $250M away from 50% of HRR by the end of the second to last season of this agreement, they will have one last season with escrow capped at 6% in which to recoup any outstanding losses. If they don’t, the CBA will expire and the league will be stuck with those losses. While I’m sure it would be a major discussion item in the next round of negotiations the players would not by any means be obligated to pay for those losses.



Whether people agree or not, how much the players make matters more to them than ensuring a 50/50 revenue split with the owners. Otherwise they would have just agreed to extend the previous CBA and let escrow take care of it.

The more the league lowers the value of playing, the more I can see players opting to sit out and wait for things to normalize rather than risk injury playing for close to half of what they would otherwise be making. Career risks aside, given in to the league’s demands here would also set a horrible precedent in their bargaining relationship with the league. I think that is something a lot of people are missing in all of this, the league has basically put the players in a spot where even if they want to consider doing this because they believe the league isn’t bluffing, they basically can’t because it would signal to the league that anytime they want to renegotiate something midway through a CBA’s term all they would have to do is threaten to cancel the upcoming season.

What if the players make more than $250M?

[Fire]

If the season is cancelled, I doubt it burns off a year for each NHL contract. For some contracts it could be a benefit for the team but if it means keeping older players for one additional year, that will turn bad contracts into even worse contracts before they end.

[albertGQ]

Originally Posted by Fire

If the season is cancelled, I doubt it burns off a year for each NHL contract. For some contracts it could be a benefit for the team but if it means keeping older players for one additional year, that will turn bad contracts into even worse contracts before they end.

The 2004/2005 canceled season resulted in contracts being burned for a year. So there’s already precedent of this happening.

[iggy_oi]

Originally Posted by Sidney Crosby's Hat

What if the players make more than $250M?

No extra season. Not sure why the league would agree to such a low cap on that but then again there’s a lot in this deal that I’m surprised the league agreed to.

[DoubleK]

Originally Posted by iggy_oi

No extra season. Not sure why the league would agree to such a low cap on that but then again there’s a lot in this deal that I’m surprised the league agreed to.

Did you not read anything in the MOU about the escrow balance? Do you understand how it works?

Have you actually read the MOU?

[iggy_oi]

Originally Posted by DoubleK

Did you not read anything in the MOU about the escrow balance? Do you understand how it works?

Have you actually read the MOU?

Yes and I can’t be bothered to continue explaining to you how it does not guarantee a 50/50 revenue split when it’s quite clear that is the case and you refuse to acknowledge it.

Are you under the impression that the clause regarding an extra year being added on if player salaries are not within $125M-$250M of a 50/50 split does not exist?

How does the league make up for a shortfall in revenues in the last season of this deal if escrow is capped and can’t be increased for that season?

[DoubleK]

Originally Posted by iggy_oi

Yes and I can’t be bothered to continue explaining to you how it does not guarantee a 50/50 revenue split when it’s quite clear that is the case and you refuse to acknowledge it.



Are you under the impression that the clause regarding an extra year being added on if player salaries are not within $125M-$250M of a 50/50 split does not exist?



How does the league make up for a shortfall in revenues in the last season of this deal if escrow is capped and can’t be increased for that season?

Are you trying to use some form of thin logic to say that if the escrow balance before the 23/24 is less than $125M, that the parties don't actually get back to EXACTLY 50/50?

Is that your argument?

If yes, I'll bet you are a hit at parties.