Women’s Hockey League Doubles Salary Cap, Scores $25M

Two weeks before the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics open, the Premier Hockey Federation announced plans to raise each team’s salary cap from $300,000 to $750,000 and add two more teams next season.

The sole North American women’s hockey league — previously called the National Women’s Hockey League — has six teams, but the PHF is planning to add one franchise in Montreal and another in a U.S. city to be named later.

Commissioner Ty Tumminia emphasized the importance of the announcement’s timing ahead of the Olympics, discussing clarity of the league’s framework “so that all athletes can make an informed decision about their careers.”

The announcement is part of the PHL board of governors’ commitment to invest more than $25 million in the league over the next three years.

• Teams with a minimum 20-player roster will have an average salary of $37,500. Salaries for teams with a maximum 25-player roster will average at $30,000.
• Individual player salaries have no limit as long as the team’s overall salary is under the cap.
• Players will receive full health care benefits and share a 10% equity stake in their team.

Compensation Goal

The league, which started in 2015 with four teams, had already doubled its team salary cap from $150,000 roughly one year ago. On Tuesday, John Boynton, the PHF board of governors chairman, hinted that the league still isn’t done increasing compensation.