Breakaway on SI

NHL Agent's Career Earnings Hit Unreal Number

With two recent deals, NHL super-agent Pat Brisson has reached an incredible earnings milestone.

Jacob Punturi

Apr 4, 2024; Washington, District of Columbia, USA; Pittsburgh Penguins center Sidney Crosby (87) skates with the puck as Washington Capitals center Connor McMichael (24) chases in the first period at Capital One Arena. Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports
Apr 4, 2024; Washington, District of Columbia, USA; Pittsburgh Penguins center Sidney Crosby (87) skates with the puck as Washington Capitals center Connor McMichael (24) chases in the first period at Capital One Arena. Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports / Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports
In this story:

The NHL is dominated by superstars. Players like Connor McDavid, Nathan MacKinnon, and Auston Matthews stand above a majority of the league with their superior talent and star power.

For the agents that represent them, it's a very similar dynamic. There are small handful of super-agents who represent a huge portion of the players in the league and there is no one better at their job then agent and head of CAA Sports LLC, Pat Brisson.

Brisson's name is synonymous with NHL player agents as he's set himself apart over the last two decades dealing with the league. He's been so influential in contract negotiations during the salary cap era, that he just surpassed an outrageous amount of career earnings for players.

According to PuckPedia, Brisson recently surpassed over $1.4 billion in active NHL contracts. He's negotiated the deals of 83 current players in the league worth a total value of $1.423 billion. That also represents over $255 million in total cap hit around the league. As PuckPedia points out, that number is roughly equivalent to the total of three NHL team's salary cap space.

Brisson's reputation and career is largely built on the back of Pittsburgh Penguins' captain and future Hall of Famer Sidney Crosby. Brisson signed Crosby as an agent when he was still a junior hockey player. And since Crosby turned 14, Brisson has been his representation.

That relationship has carried over to the NHL, where Brisson's negotiated the best deal of his career for Crosby. His current contract, which Crosby is entering the final year of, still stands as the biggest deal Brisson's put together. Back in 2013, Brisson and the Penguins negotiated a 12-year contract for Crosby paying him $104.4 million in total. It was a groundbreaking amount of money for an NHL player to receive.

Over a decade later, Brisson continues racking up incredible deals for his NHL clients. Crosby's long-time buddy and Colorado Avalanche superstar Nathan MacKinnon is another client of Brisson's. In the summer of 2023, MacKinnon signed the second largest deal for Brisson, inking a $100 million deal. Some other notable superstars that Brisson represents are John Tavares, Elias Pettersson, Dylan Larkin, and Jack Hughes. He maintains a firm grip on the NHL and there's no clear end to his reign as the league's premier agent.

Make sure you bookmark Breakaway OnSI for the latest news, exclusive interviews, recruiting coverage, and more! 

Published
Jacob Punturi

JACOB PUNTURI

Home/News Feed Page