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The NHL begins the 2023-24 season primed for the consistent, sizable growth of its salary cap after breaking out of a dormant period brought on by the pandemic.
From 2019-22, the cap remained flat at $81.5 million, but last season, it increased by $1 million. It’s doing the same this year, sitting at $83.5 million — the highest in league history.
But next year, players’ remaining escrow debt owed to owners — currently $50 million — will in all likelihood be fully paid off, allowing for higher cap increases from season to season.
The NHL believes the cap could rise to $88 million for 2024-25, and an early estimate for the 2025-26 season is $92 million, according to Cap Friendly.
The salary cap boost is a welcome sign for many teams looking to spend more and up their competitiveness on the ice. Overall, the league expects to bring in $6.2 billion in total revenue this season.
Players are starting to feel the benefits of professional hockey’s ascendance. This offseason, the Boston Bruins signed forward David Pastrnak to an eight-year, $90 million contract extension that represented the sixth-largest deal in NHL history.
The NHL is entering the third year of new media rights deals with ESPN and Warner Bros. Discovery Sports (formerly Turner Sports at the time they were signed), reportedly bringing in more than $600 million annually. Both the deals run through 2028.
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