Insider: NHL Could See Big Salary Cap Jump

According to one NHL insider, the salary cap could see a big jump soon.

Oct 9, 2024; Las Vegas, Nevada, USA; NHL commissioner Gary Bettman answers questions from the media prior to a game between the Vegas Golden Knights and Colorado Avalanche at T-Mobile Arena. Mandatory Credit: Lucas Peltier-Imagn Images / Lucas Peltier-Imagn Images

Since the COVID-19 pandemic, the NHL has slowly recovered as a league. As things stand in 2024, the league has bounced back and is coming off of the highest amount of revenue earned in the history of the NHL. According to a recent valuation of all 32 NHL franchises, there are now eight teams worth at least $2 billion.

With the rise in revenue, one NHL insider believes it has huge implications for the salary cap. Elliotte Friedman spoke about the relationship between the two on a recent episode of the 32 Thoughts podcast.

"So, the revenues have grown faster than the guardrails that were held on the cap. The cap right now, depending on who you talk to, but the cap should be somewhere in the $100 million range."

The guardrails Friedman is referring to were mechanisms put into place during the COVID-19 pandemic to keep revenue flowing for the league. It's a confusing process to unpack, but the biggest takeaway is that the revenue split of the NHL was previously 50/50, but that split was slightly altered during the pandemic.

Now that revenue is soaring again and the league is flourishing, those guardrails aren't necessarily needed. Speaking with his co-host Kyle Bukauskas, Friedman laid out the potential for a provision within the Collective Bargaining Agreement to raise the salary cap for 2025 higher than the 5% increase outlined in the CBA.

"There are some estimates," he said. "And these are probably the most positive estimates, that think in two years a 50/50 cap will be close to $110 (million)."

The salary cap for the current season is $88 million. With the current CBA's salary cap structure, the 2025-2026 cap would be $92.5 million. If both sides agree to raising it a little more, the provision within the current CBA would allow them to do it. Friedman believes a solid compromise as the two sides go into CBA negotiations in 2026, will be to raise the cap for 2025-2026 to somewhere around the $95-97 million.

"Unless something really goes off the rails," he said. "I think we're gonna see a $95 to $97 cap this year, as long as the CBA gets done as part of it."

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