swflyers25
7-16-05, 4:00 PM
Players: What about Bob?
Some urge pay cut for union leader
NHLPA scheduled to meet next week
MARK ZWOLINSKI
SPORTS REPORTER
At least one NHL player believes union head Bob Goodenow should face the same 24 per cent salary rollback negotiated into the new collective bargaining agreement.
"If we have to take a 24 per cent pay cut, why shouldn't he," one Detroit Red Wings player said yesterday.
Several players contacted yesterday wavered on the question, or did not wish to get involved all together.
But Goodenow's salary ? a reported $2.5 million (all figures U.S.) a year and one of the richest among union heads in North America ? is expected to be a topic of discussion next Wednesday when NHL players descend on Toronto to vote on the new labour deal struck with the owners.
In fact, the players may even put the question to Goodenow directly: if it's good for the players, why shouldn't it be good for you?
Goodenow's salary makes him the highest paid union boss in Canada, with bi-weekly paycheques arriving in the amount of about $115,000 before taxes.
His salary also tops Major League Baseball union chief Don Fehr ($1 million) and NBA counterpart Billy Hunter ($1.8 million). The NFL's Gene Upshaw earns around $3 million.
Goodenow and six NHLPA executives pledged to work without pay over the lockout which lasted 301 days.
But Goodenow's stock has fallen dramatically during the course of the lockout, especially in recent weeks with the perception that the players caved, accepting a $39 million salary cap.
That number is $3.5 million less than the cap ceiling offered by the NHL back in November, and the cap itself is a concession Goodenow vowed would never enter the bargaining process.
However, since his six-year contract was struck in 2002, Goodenow has presided over an increase in the average salary for an NHL player to $1.8 million from $271,000 in 1990-91.
NHL players have been on both sides of the fence regarding Goodenow's performance during the lockout. Their share of the league's $2 billion in revenue in 2003-04 was 75 per cent. It now drops to 54 per cent of the projected $1.8 billion for the upcoming 2005-06 season.
But while the players wilted and accepted a salary cap, many critics now believe the overall deal is more player friendly than it was in February.
New and improved clauses reportedly include an expanded pension plan, a rolled back age for unrestricted free agency, restoration of player arbitration, an increase of qualifying offers from 75 to 100 per cent, and the potential for increasing the $39 million cap if revenues go up.
Goodenow and NHL commissioner Gary Bettman both signed their own long term deals over the past two years.
Bettman, the perceived big winner in the lockout, is signed through the 2007-08 season at a reported $3.5 million yearly salary.
Some 288 of about 780 NHLers are under contract for the upcoming season, and only 51 of those will earn the same salary or more than Goodenow.
Another player yesterday said Goodenow's salary figure and the 24 per cent rollback are not the most significant questions the union leader will face next Wednesday.
"The big question will be whether or not he keeps his job," the player said.
Toronto Star (http://www.thestar.com/NASApp/cs/ContentServer?pagename=thestar/Layout/Article_Type1&c=Article&cid=1121464223896&call_pageid=968867503640&col=970081593064)
Should be interesting...
Some urge pay cut for union leader
NHLPA scheduled to meet next week
MARK ZWOLINSKI
SPORTS REPORTER
At least one NHL player believes union head Bob Goodenow should face the same 24 per cent salary rollback negotiated into the new collective bargaining agreement.
"If we have to take a 24 per cent pay cut, why shouldn't he," one Detroit Red Wings player said yesterday.
Several players contacted yesterday wavered on the question, or did not wish to get involved all together.
But Goodenow's salary ? a reported $2.5 million (all figures U.S.) a year and one of the richest among union heads in North America ? is expected to be a topic of discussion next Wednesday when NHL players descend on Toronto to vote on the new labour deal struck with the owners.
In fact, the players may even put the question to Goodenow directly: if it's good for the players, why shouldn't it be good for you?
Goodenow's salary makes him the highest paid union boss in Canada, with bi-weekly paycheques arriving in the amount of about $115,000 before taxes.
His salary also tops Major League Baseball union chief Don Fehr ($1 million) and NBA counterpart Billy Hunter ($1.8 million). The NFL's Gene Upshaw earns around $3 million.
Goodenow and six NHLPA executives pledged to work without pay over the lockout which lasted 301 days.
But Goodenow's stock has fallen dramatically during the course of the lockout, especially in recent weeks with the perception that the players caved, accepting a $39 million salary cap.
That number is $3.5 million less than the cap ceiling offered by the NHL back in November, and the cap itself is a concession Goodenow vowed would never enter the bargaining process.
However, since his six-year contract was struck in 2002, Goodenow has presided over an increase in the average salary for an NHL player to $1.8 million from $271,000 in 1990-91.
NHL players have been on both sides of the fence regarding Goodenow's performance during the lockout. Their share of the league's $2 billion in revenue in 2003-04 was 75 per cent. It now drops to 54 per cent of the projected $1.8 billion for the upcoming 2005-06 season.
But while the players wilted and accepted a salary cap, many critics now believe the overall deal is more player friendly than it was in February.
New and improved clauses reportedly include an expanded pension plan, a rolled back age for unrestricted free agency, restoration of player arbitration, an increase of qualifying offers from 75 to 100 per cent, and the potential for increasing the $39 million cap if revenues go up.
Goodenow and NHL commissioner Gary Bettman both signed their own long term deals over the past two years.
Bettman, the perceived big winner in the lockout, is signed through the 2007-08 season at a reported $3.5 million yearly salary.
Some 288 of about 780 NHLers are under contract for the upcoming season, and only 51 of those will earn the same salary or more than Goodenow.
Another player yesterday said Goodenow's salary figure and the 24 per cent rollback are not the most significant questions the union leader will face next Wednesday.
"The big question will be whether or not he keeps his job," the player said.
Toronto Star (http://www.thestar.com/NASApp/cs/ContentServer?pagename=thestar/Layout/Article_Type1&c=Article&cid=1121464223896&call_pageid=968867503640&col=970081593064)
Should be interesting...