The NHL is making so much money | CBC Sports (2024)

Jesse Campigotto · CBC Sports

· Posted: Dec 06, 2018 3:49 PM EST | Last Updated: December 6, 2018

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The NHL is making more money than ever

A lot more, according to Forbes. The business-focused media company did its annual audit of the league's finances and found that the average team's operating income (its profit, roughly) for the most recent season was $25 million US. That's up from $18 million the year before — an increase of 39 per cent.

So how do they do it? The turning point, Forbes says, was the 2012-13 lockout. It wiped out half the season, but the owners persuaded the players to give them 50 per cent of hockey-related revenue (their cut had been 43 per cent). The average team immediately almost doubled its profit from the last full season and they haven't looked back.

But last season was especially good to the owners for a few reasons. The biggest, Forbes says, was the expansion team in Las Vegas. The Golden Knights made it all the way to the Stanley Cup final and turned a profit of $53 million — fifth-highest in the league. Vegas' ownership raised eyebrows when it paid a $500-million expansion fee, but the team is already worth $575 million, according to Forbes. Another big factor: Washington and Buffalo both doubled their local TV rights deals, to an average of $35 million and $25 million a year, respectively. The league could be looking for its own two-fold bump when its U.S. national TV deal expires in a few years. NBC currently pays an average of $187 million a year.

As a result, the average team's value rose six per cent, to a record $630 million. The Rangers ($1.55 billion), Leafs ($1.45B) and Canadiens ($1.3B) are still the three most valuable teams. Winnipeg, despite an 11 per cent jump, is still the least-valuable Canadian franchise ($415M). But the Jets still rank ahead of four American teams — including Arizona ($290M), which is at the bottom. The Coyotes and Florida Panthers were the only franchises to lose value, according to Forbes.

And there's more money — but also trouble — on the horizon. The NHL announced this week it's expanding to Seattle for the 2021-22 season. Thanks to Vegas, the expansion fee (which owners don't share with the players) went up to $650 million. The owners will soon get a chance to gobble an even bigger slice of the revenue pie as both they and the players have the option to end their collective bargaining agreement before the start of the 2020-21 season. Commissioner Gary Bettman always seems to come out ahead when negotiating a new CBA — by any means necessary. He's presided over three lockouts, including one that wiped out an entire season. That ruthlessness bodes well for the owners' bank accounts — but it's not so great for the rest of us who just want to watch some NHL hockey.

Quickly...

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