The NHL has grown a thousand times over since the lockout ended in 2005, and as a result, everything in terms of finances has grown astronomically in those last six years. Player salaries are getting up near pre-lockout levels once again, teams are making money (well, some of them) and the league’s new TV contract with NBC is the longest and most expensive in history.
Gary Bettman Earned $7.5 Million Last Year; Do You Care?
Gary Bettman, the man at the top, is a pretty rich man himself, it turns out. The Commissioner of the NHL saw his salary jump all the way up to $7.5 million in 2009-10, including salary and benefits, according to the league’s tax filing dug up by Sports Business Journal.
NHL revenues have risen from $2.1 billion after the lockout to $2.9 billion last year. Bettman’s salary in that period has risen from a paltry $3.7 million. 17 players earned more than $7.5 million in 2010-11.
This number isn’t much compared to the chief’s of the other three major sports leagues, who are all believed to earn more than $10 million per year. MLB’s Bud Selig makes more than double what Bettman earns.
The question: do you care about what Gary Bettman earns, and if you do, do you think that the $7.5 million is a fair number for him?
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