Limited marketing opportunities and a slow-growing salary cap mean hockey players earn less than other sports stars, but Alex Ovechkin and a young rival are still making a cool $17.5 million each this season.
BY BRETT KNIGHT, FORBES STAFF
Alex Ovechkin may have to wait another year to pass Wayne Gretzky for the NHL’s career goals record, with the Washington Capitals’ Great Eight 72 goals behind the Great One as the new season begins on October 10. But heading into his 19th season in the league, the 38-year-old Ovechkin can already add one title to his remarkable résumé.
For the first time since Forbes began publishing an NHL earnings list in 2010, Ovechkin is hockey’s highest-paid player, making $12.5 million in salary and bonus and an estimated $5 million from endorsem*nts, licensing and other business endeavors for a total of $17.5 million (before taxes and agents’ fees). But the crown comes with an asterisk: Sharing the No. 1 spot is Colorado Avalanche center Nathan MacKinnon with $17.5 million of his own.
The 28-year-old MacKinnon will collect $16.5 million of that total on the ice, from the eight-year, $100.8 million contract extension he signed last fall. Ovechkin, on the other hand, makes almost a third of his income away from the rink, with only Edmonton Oilers star Connor McDavid able to match his sponsor portfolio and just a few other players across all of hockey hauling in millions as pitchmen.
One NHL agent, noting the limited marketing opportunities available to players in the sport, points out that during a recent Sunday Night Football broadcast, the Kansas City Chiefs’ Patrick Mahomes and Travis Kelce appeared in five different commercials between them—and that doesn’t count the other ads featuring NFL players who weren’t on the field that night. A nationally televised NHL game, by contrast, may have one or two commercials showcasing hockey players—at most. It’s little wonder, then, that the NHL’s ten highest-paid players are making about $13 million off the ice among them, a fraction of the $69 million posted by the NFL’s top ten this year or the $330 million amassed by last year’s NBA top ten.
NHL players also face earnings hurdles with the league’s salary cap, which was introduced in 2005 and which has had its growth derailed because of a debt that players ran up to team owners during the Covid-19 pandemic. This season, payrolls will top out at $83.5 million, just $2 million more than the 2019-20 cap. That number looks even worse considering then-Avalanche captain Joe Sakic reportedly hauled in $16.45 million in 1997-98, or roughly $31 million adjusted for inflation. And again, to make a comparison with the NBA, 101 basketball players will earn more in salary this season than MacKinnon’s NHL-best $16.5 million on the ice, according to Spotrac.
Now that the players’ Covid debt is almost paid off, though, the cap should start rising again in the coming years as the NHL brings in record revenue thanks to a wave of exciting young talent and media deals with ESPN and TNT that began in 2021. Toronto Maple Leafs sharpshooter Auston Matthews also provided a jolt of financial optimism with the four-year, $53 million contract extension he signed in August, setting a league mark with the deal’s $13.25 million average annual value. Matthews is due to make $16.7 million on the ice next season, which, along with his estimated $4 million in annual off-ice earnings, should make him the first player to surpass $20 million total in the 14-year history of Forbes’ NHL earnings ranking.
Combined, this year’s ten highest-paid NHL players are set to receive $140 million, shy of 2019-20’s record $159 million but a 19% increase from last year’s $118 million.
THE NHL’S TEN HIGHEST-PAID PLAYERS 2023
#1 (tie). $17.5 million
Alex Ovechkin
AGE: 38 | POSITION: LEFT WING | TEAM: WASHINGTON CAPITALS | ON-ICE: $12.5 MILLION • OFF-ICE: $5 MILLION
Ovechkin, who passed Gordie Howe for second place on the NHL’s career goals list in December, will be doing big licensing business as he closes in on Wayne Gretzky’s record, having trademarked “The Gr8 Chase” to use on memorabilia and apparel. He almost certainly won’t reach the milestone this season—he is 72 goals behind Gretzky, and his best total in a season, 65, came in 2007-08—but if he can maintain his usual scoring pace, he could get there in 2024-25. Ovechkin’s sponsors include Nike, Hublot and Fonbet, a Russian gambling company, and his name will grace a hockey academy being built in Moscow.
#1 (tie). $17.5 million
Nathan MacKinnon
AGE: 28 | POSITION: CENTER | TEAM: COLORADO AVALANCHE | ON-ICE: $16.5 MILLION • OFF-ICE: $1 MILLION
MacKinnon debuted in the NHL at age 18 in 2013, barely three months after the Avalanche made him the draft’s first overall pick, and he’s lived up to the hype, leading Colorado to a Stanley Cup title in 2022. He is among the select few hockey players making seven figures off the ice thanks to partnerships with Canadian Tire, CCM, Fanatics and Tim Hortons. His $17.5 million total this season also ties him with Alex Ovechkin for the third-best mark in the 14-year history of Forbes’ NHL earnings ranking, after the $19 million and $18.5 million posted by the Oilers’ Connor McDavid in 2018-19 and 2019-20.
#3. $16 million
Connor McDavid
AGE: 26 | POSITION: CENTER | TEAM: EDMONTON OILERS | ON-ICE: $11 MILLION • OFF-ICE: $5 MILLION
McDavid’s agent became his boss this summer when the Oilers hired Jeff Jackson as CEO of hockey operations. The reigning Hart Trophy winner as league MVP will now be represented by Jackson’s former Wasserman colleague Judd Moldaver, whose clients also include Auston Matthews and Zach Werenski and who will be tasked with expanding an endorsem*nt portfolio that features BetMGM, CIBC bank and Canadian car dealership network Go Auto.
#4. $13.8 million
David Pastrnak
AGE: 27 | POSITION: RIGHT WING | TEAM: BOSTON BRUINS | ON-ICE: $13 MILLION • OFF-ICE: $0.8 MILLION
Pastrnak—better known by Bruins fans as Pasta—signed an eight-year, $90 million extension in March, and while the average annual value of $11.25 million was the sixth-highest in NHL history to that point, the deal was immediately seen as a steal for Boston. That’s a credit to a forward who finished the season with 61 goals and 113 points and was second in the Hart Trophy voting, behind only Connor McDavid.
#5. $13 million
Kirill Kaprizov
AGE: 26 | POSITION: LEFT WING | TEAM: MINNESOTA WILD | ON-ICE: $12.5 MILLION • OFF-ICE: $0.5 MILLION
After winning the Calder Trophy in 2021 as the NHL’s rookie of the year, Kaprizov signed a five-year, $45 million extension with the Minnesota Wild that September. The negotiations were reportedly tense, but Kaprizov has held up his end of the bargain: He has racked up 234 points in 203 games across three seasons.
#6. $12.7 million
Dougie Hamilton
AGE: 30 | POSITION: DEFENSEMAN | TEAM: NEW JERSEY DEVILS | ON-ICE: $12.6 MILLION • OFF-ICE: $0.1 MILLION
Hamilton is entering the third season of a seven-year, $63 million contract he signed as a free agent in 2021, but because of the way the deal is structured, he is due for a big raise in 2023-24. (In each of the last two years, he made $6.3 million on the ice.) The defenseman had an offensive breakout last season, notching 74 points—24 better than his previous career best.
#7. $12.6 million
Seth Jones
AGE: 29 | POSITION: DEFENSEMAN | TEAM: CHICAGO BLACKHAWKS | ON-ICE: $12.5 MILLION • OFF-ICE: $0.1 MILLION
The Blackhawks gave Jones an eight-year, $76 million extension in 2021 after acquiring him in a trade from the Columbus Blue Jackets, and the deal is now seen around the league as an albatross for the team. But while Jones may not quite be performing at his 2017-18 level—when he finished fourth in the Norris Trophy voting for best defenseman as a 23-year-old—he continues to be productive in Chicago’s top pairing.
#8. $12.4 million
Alex Pietrangelo
AGE: 33 | POSITION: DEFENSEMAN | TEAM: VEGAS GOLDEN KNIGHTS | ON-ICE: $12.3 MILLION • OFF-ICE: $0.1 MILLION
All he does is win: Pietrangelo led the St. Louis Blues to their first Stanley Cup title in 2019 as captain and then, after signing with the Golden Knights in 2020, helped Las Vegas win its first championship this past June. His current contract, for $61.6 million over seven years, includes a no-movement clause, meaning he can’t be traded, waived or exposed in an expansion draft without approval.
#9. $12.3 million
Adam Fox
AGE: 25 | POSITION: DEFENSEMAN | TEAM: NEW YORK RANGERS | ON-ICE: $12 MILLION • OFF-ICE: $0.3 MILLION
At 25, Fox is the youngest player on this year’s NHL earnings ranking, and that is saying something—eight of the 11 names are under 30. He signed a seven-year, $66.5 million contract in 2021 after winning the Norris Trophy as the league’s best defenseman in his sophom*ore season, and he has looked just about as good the last two years, finishing no lower than fifth in the voting for the award.
#10 (tie). $12.2 million
Timo Meier
AGE: 26 | POSITION: RIGHT WING | TEAM: NEW JERSEY DEVILS | ON-ICE: $12 MILLION • OFF-ICE: $0.2 MILLION
The Devils took a gamble on Meier, acquiring him from the San Jose Sharks in a blockbuster trade in February even though he was scheduled to become a restricted free agent. But Meier, who turns 27 on October 8, chose to stay in New Jersey, signing an eight-year, $70.4 million extension in June.
#10 (tie). $12.2 million
Zach Werenski
AGE: 26 | POSITION: DEFENSEMAN | TEAM: COLUMBUS BLUE JACKETS | ON-ICE: $12 MILLION • OFF-ICE: $0.2 MILLION
The Blue Jackets haven’t always been able to retain their stars, losing Artemi Panarin and Sergei Bobrovsky in free agency in 2019 and trading away Ryan Johansen in 2016 and Seth Jones in 2021 before they had a chance to walk. But Columbus paid up for Werenski with a six-year, $57.5 million extension in 2021, and the defenseman is back on the ice after appearing in just 13 games last season because of a shoulder injury.
METHODOLOGY
The Forbes ranking of the NHL’s highest-paid players reflects on-ice earnings for the 2023-24 season, including base salaries and bonuses. The off-ice earnings estimates, which are rounded to the nearest $100,000, are determined through conversations with industry insiders and reflect annual cash from endorsem*nts, licensing, appearances and memorabilia, as well as cash returns from any businesses in which the athlete has a significant interest. Investment income such as interest payments or dividends is not included, but Forbes does account for payouts from equity stakes athletes have sold. Forbes does not deduct for taxes or agents’ fees.
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