Gary Bettman provides major update on when the salary cap will rise and by how much

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Joshua Deeds
June 15, 2022 (7:37 PM)

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It looks like it may be quite some time before the NHL's Salary Cap returns to normal as far as raises go. This is among the fact that the NHL reported record revenues this season and the NHL has added advertisements to helmets and now, starting next season: jerseys.

Back in December, revenue was projected at over $5 billion, which is above 2019-2020, which was $4.4 billion. That likely means a salary cap rise of $8,000,000 to $10,000,000 upon the repayment of escrow if this number is maintained.

So, in all honesty, it sounds like another instance of the NHLPA fumbling the ball for its membership. They're required to pay back into escrow for a crisis they didn't create and in fact, many players are suffering after 2020-2021, including many NHL athletes who haven't spoken up about possible Long-Covid diagnosis or other disabilities as a result.

The helmet move helped the league financially, as Bettman said that teams "retained more than $100 million in revenue" because of those ads and other money-drawing changes. The NBA's jersey ads boosted revenue by $150 million annually, according to Sportico..

Even with all the revenue as a result none of this, was detailed in any specific way to benefit the players, and Bettman again won't move on moving the cap any higher than the $1 million added so far.

2-3 years is a non-starter for a regressive league, dinosaur ownership and a dinosaur commissioner. The league has rebounded in revenue, they're adding most likely another $5 million to $10 million in addition to the helmet ads.

Instead of Don Fehr, maybe someone who actually is a player should be President, so the players aren't hamstrung by the bureaucracy of the old boys club.