Strange as it may seem, NHL players are not compensated for their work in the Stanley Cup playoffs.
Those of you who have followed the playoffs closely over the years know there is no salary cap in the playoffs, simply because player contracts are for the regular season only.
There may be bonuses paid in individual contracts, and players on every team will collect bonuses for winning rounds, but otherwise it’s a literal free for all for the men on the ice.
But with the Florida Panthers on the verge of their second straight championship — and whether they win it tonight or Friday night in Game 7 in Edmonton — here is a look at what player payouts will be for the Stanley Cup winners this year.
How Much Do Stanley Cup Winners Make?
According to the collective-bargaining agreement, the pool of money that goes to the entire 16-team playoff field is $23 million. The NHL Players Association decides how money distributed to the teams.
Teams that reach the playoffs but don’t advance get an amount — more on that below — but the two champions of each conference are vying for days with the Stanley Cup and a pot of about $7 million in bonus funds.
Each team votes on how many shares it will receive, and they may also vote to divide shares for deserving-yet-unworthy players. For instance, if stars like Matthew Tkachuk, Sergey Bobrovsky, Sam Bennett, Aaron Ekblad are a slam dunk to earn a full share, others like Tomas Nosek, Mackie Samoskevich or backup goalie Vitek Vanececk may receive partial shares as roster players who are less deserving of a full share.
A full share is worth about $300,000, which as most Panthers fans know is not subject to state income tax, since Florida does not have one.
Even a half-share would come in handy for playoff contributors like Jesper Boqvist or A.J. Greer, since $150,000 would be an extra 10 percent in pay for Boqvist and almost 20 percent of Greer’s annual salary of $850,000.
How Does Stanley Cup Pay Compare To Other Champions?
Surprisingly, NHL players are not receiving the lowest amount of any champion in a North American major-professional sport.
That amount goes to NFL players, who each received a share of about $171,000 for winning the Super Bowl, according to Fortune. Though the obvious caveat is there are more than twice as many NFL players (53) as there are on an NHL roster (23), meaning the total pool championship football players receive is larger.
The $300,000-or-so is about half of the money that Major League Baseball’s champion will make in 2025 — though their pool of money is substantially larger since, according to Yahoo, it is tied to gate receipts for all games played and baseball games are played at venues about twice the size of hockey arenas.
According to Sportico, the team that wins the NBA championship will share about $8.8 million. But with NBA rosters set at 15 players, the shares will equal those of MLB players — though NBA bonus payouts are paid out unequally.
How Much Do Non-Champion NHL Teams Make?
According to The Athletic, the 2024 Edmonton Oilers shared slightly less than $4 million in earnings — or about $174,000 for a full share — for coming one win short against the Panthers in the Stanley Cup final.
This season, it’s safe to assume that number will jump to at least $4 million.
But every team that makes the playoff gets a piece of the playoff pie. First-round losers will get a piece of about $20,000 apiece. The Presidents’ Trophy winners will share about $1 million this season, as will second-round losers.
Conference final losers will get a little bit more than $2 million to divvy up.
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