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Leon Draisaitl and the Edmonton Oilers reached an agreement on an eight-year extension worth $112 million this week. With an average annual value of $14 million, the deal will make Draisaitl the highest-paid player in the NHL once it goes into effect during the 2025–26 season.
Even though the contract will make Draisaitl the highest-paid player in the league, it doesn't come close to the salaries of other professional sports in the US. For example, the 2024-25 season will see Golden State Warriors star Steph Curry make $55.7 million for the season, with Curry then set to make $59.6 million the following year.
The fact that it will take Leon Draisaitl eight years to make what Curry does in two has sparked debate. On one hand, many feel Leon Draisaitl and other NHL stars deserve to make far more; others feel you can't compare the two sports and how much players are paid.
One user on X, formerly known as Twitter, weighed in on the situation, listing where Leon Draisaitl's $14 million-per-year contract ranks in other pro sports.
NHL fans were quick to weigh in on Leon Draisaitl's contract:
"Leon picked the wrong sport. He should be playing European Football!" - One wrote
"What’s your point? This is an apples to oranges comparison. It’s a privilege to play in the NHL. If players are upset that they don’t make as much as other pro athletes, they should have dedicated their lives to play a different sport in higher paying league." - Another added
Others pointed to league revenue as a reason for the lack of parity:
"Now do television rights payouts." - One wrote
"Hockey players make less money because the league generates less revenue as compared to the other sports. Hope this helps." - Another explained
Others pointed to the percentage of cap as the true indicator:
"Now by % of cap." - One wrote
"This is not reprentative. The caps are different. You need to base it on the pourcentage against de cap." - Another wrote
Valuation of the NHL compared to other sports leagues
NHL players make far less than other US-based leagues such as the NBA and the MLB, largely due to the media rights deals. For example, the NBA recently signed a new media rights deal that will go into effect after the 2024–25 NBA season.
The deal, finalized this summer, includes Amazon, NBC, and Disney (ESPN) and is worth $76 billion over 11 years, according to ESPN. On the flip side, the NHL's media rights deal signed back in 2021 sees the league make just $625 million per season, according to Sports Pro Media.
Given that, it's hard to compare the pay of players because of the massive gap in league revenue from things like media rights deals. In addition, it's also important to note that NHL rosters consist of far more players than NBA rosters.
While an NBA team has players on two-way deals, the main roster consists of just 12 players. In the NHL, however, teams are allowed to have 20 players dress for games. Because of that, teams are forced to spread out their available cap space over an additional eight players.
With the NHL continuing to gain in popularity year after year, after the league's current media rights deal expires, a larger and more valuable deal is expected, which in turn will see players earn more.
