We as people are enduring tough times due to Covid-19, whether it be financially, physically, mentally, or for personal reasons. Everyone has had to adjust to living life in the NEW NORM. Nothing is set in stone on a daily basis, and our lives continue to be impacted on a daily basis.
This stalemate between the NHL and the players are not the fault of the players contrary to some belief, and that is one reason I write this article. I want to get the facts out there because the fans (Who pay these players their salaries) should know. The players have agreed to a pay cut, and prefer the terms that are indicated in the July 10 Memorandum of Understanding. This called for the players to lose 20 percent, a whopping 20 percent of their paychecks to escrow in 2020-21, with another 10 percent deferred. On the surface this is a 30 percent pay cut, however Bettman “Indicated that two recent proposals on behalf of the owners are calling for increased deferral and escrow payments were made in an effort to keep everything in balance during a tough year,” says Chris Johnston a great reporter for Sportsnet.
Now to set the record straight the owners are calling for $300 million more in concessions. That’s a ton of money folks, when the players have already agreed to a 30 percent pay cut on the surface:
“Under our [collective bargaining] deal, and the one we’ve had for more than a decade with the players’ association, whatever the revenues are the players only get 50 percent. And if we overpay them and they don’t pay us back in the short term, they have to pay us back over time. There will be stresses on the system and we’ve had discussions about what those stresses are and how they might be dealt with, but we’re not trying to say ‘You must do X, Y and Z.’ We’re trying to look for ways to continue to work together. I know it’s being portrayed as something else and it’s unfortunate and it’s inaccurate because at the end of day if the system gets stressed it’s going to be stressed for both of us.”- Gary Bettman
During these tough times it’s easy to point fingers, and of course for some the easiest fingers to point at here are the players. However, the players have already agreed to pay cuts, and at the end of the day money will be lost. Hockey is a spectator sport, they need the fans in the seats to produce a profit it’s just that simple, hence the reason at least six teams would like to have outdoor games this coming season (For revenue purposes as our great Andy Gorel wrote previously) as a means for putting fans in the seats outdoors as regulated by different states and counties.
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I do believe a deal will get worked out, and the season will begin mid-late January or even early February. These times are not easy for the owners, nor the players, they will have to work together and end this stalemate.
