The National Hockey League is gearing up for a comeback. On Monday, the league and its players union announced an agreement to end the 2019-20 season with a 24-team postseason tournament starting Aug. 1. The plan relies on strict health and safety protocols, including daily COVID-19 testing for players. and personal, but as of now, the NHL will resume its actions for the first time since March 12.
The decision is not without controversy. The new coronavirus pandemic is still raging in the US, prompting the NHL to focus the remaining games in two central Canadian cities, Toronto and Edmonton. A week before the restart was agreed, Sportsnet reporter Eric Engels, quoting the players anonymously, said: “One player said that most players don’t want to play again this summer. Estimated 75% “.
Engels quoted another saying: “The calls with the NHL [Players Association] have been ‘a joke’” and that they simply revolved around financial incentives. This speaks to the point that while the spirit of competition and sense of closure are important to some, there are also financial risks that depend on the completion of the season.
As of now, total revenue for the 2019-2020 season stands at $ 3.9 billion, the Los Angeles Times reported. Last season, the NHL raised just over $ 5 billion.
A large chunk of that revenue comes from a major television deal with NBC. The NHL signed a 10-year national deal with NBC in 2011 that gives the league $ 200 million annually in the US alone. The NHL also has a national television deal with Canada’s Rogers Communications worth $ 4.9 billion. dollars for 12 years, beginning in 2013. These totals do not include the various agreements signed with local issuers. According to the Philadelphia Inquirer, completing the playoff tournament could bring the NHL approximately $ 500 million in total television revenue.
The stakes are high beyond this season when it comes to television revenue. The NBC deal will expire in 2021, and the NHL will seek the best possible leverage when it comes to negotiating a new contract.
For now, it appears the NHL will regain some of that leverage with plans to end the season in its place. Players are scheduled to return to training ground on July 13, and there will be a chance to see how fans respond to watching games in the empty arena for the remainder of the season.
The NHL isn’t the only league looking to finish what it started: NBA players have shown up at Disney World in Orlando to compete in a similar-style tournament, and MLB recently announced a schedule for a shorter season. Meanwhile, the competition of the most important soccer league in Europe has been going on for several weeks, albeit in empty stadiums, to end the respective seasons of the teams.
