HockeyExpert Posted September 30, 2016 Share Posted September 30, 2016 As an avid hockey fan and a dedicated employee of a hard working union job I never understood why great sportsmen like hockey players hold out over money. There has never been a documented case of a player wanting to be a hockey player for MONEY, all of them do it because they love the game they played as a kid. They are so fortunate that most of them dont even realize how unbelievably lucky they are to play a kids game into their adult hood, to be able to play sports for a living is a huge huge benefit in terms of a life style, in terms of women attention, in terms of health and earnings. So when it comes to money, a few million dollars a year is enough to set anyone up for life. So what gives? Ask your self, if you had a team offering you $6 million a year and your agent is telling you you are worth $7, no way you would sacrifice the game you love for that extra 1 mill because you are already making 6$. At that point in time you will stock pile say 10-20$ mill over your career and an extra 3-4$ mill is not going to break the bank. If the game is truly about the game why do players hold out over money? Thoughts are welcomed! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drsofthands Posted September 30, 2016 Share Posted September 30, 2016 Well if its not going to them, the owner is keeping it, who is 100x richer. Its not like the surplus goes to charity Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rocksterh8 Posted September 30, 2016 Share Posted September 30, 2016 7 minutes ago, drsofthands said: Well if its not going to them, the owner is keeping it, who is 100x richer. Its not like the surplus goes to charity Thats exactly the whole problem with sports, and it's all because people will pay what ever they ask for tickets. Ticket prices are already absurd money and keep getting worse, so much so that a normal family cannot afford to see a game. It's always been about greed, as long as rich pompous "me me me" suites are getting their way, it will never change. I'm also happy to say although I love the game of hockey and watch the Canucks regularly, besides paying for cable, the NHL has never gotten a dime from me and until they become reasonable with pricing, they never will. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Apple Juice Posted September 30, 2016 Share Posted September 30, 2016 As an athlete, if you don't have any educational background to back yourself up with, the money you earn is pretty much going to set you up for your life and your family and your kid's families. Being able to earn millions of dollars as a top athlete is good but a lot of players take whatever is reasonable for themselves as well as the team. Others only want to be as rich as possible and make the team overpay them. As a young athlete, one fatal injury can pretty much ruin your career. A career that you worked so hard to achieve from a little kid, through your preteen years and into the CHL or NCAA or wherever they're coming from. Does LeBron James need 100 million dollars from his newly signed contract? Probably not. But that $100 million is coming from his contract alone. Forget about the multiple sponsorship and endorsement deals he's already got lined up. That money he signed helps live his extravagant and lavish lifestyle that he's already accustomed to. Keep in mind he's got two kids and a family as well and the money he's earning now is probably going towards his kid's future and college careers. EDIT: TO add on, in my opinion, I probably wouldn't hold out for an extra million but if my agent told me that he can swindle a way to earn an extra million and that it'll be guaranteed that he'll get it, then of course I'd trust my agent to do it. That extra million will pretty much go towards my future savings/retirement and my family. Not to mention, it could go back to charity in a cause I believe in. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gyllenhaal Posted September 30, 2016 Share Posted September 30, 2016 I disagree. For a lot of these guys in the NHL hockey is all they know and its how they are going to set themselves and their families up for life. If a guy like Gaudreau is worth 8M but takes 6M just so he doesn't have to miss a few games of the season then he is screwing himself over. If you have NHL superstars taking 1-2M dollar paycuts then they are just screwing over the guys who only make 1-3M a year because now they will be expected to take a paycut. and like @drsofthands said, if the money isn't going to the players then its just going back into the owners pocket. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
timberz21 Posted September 30, 2016 Share Posted September 30, 2016 It's called supply and demand. Do you think Paul McCartney, Celine Dion or Bruno Mars will come to your local high school and give a free performance to the kids? No, why should hockey player play for less than their market value and put more money in the pockets or billionaires? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MJDDawg Posted September 30, 2016 Share Posted September 30, 2016 Regardless of sport, athletes grow up playing because they love the game. Once they turn pro, most become mercenaries and follow the money. You have to understand that for many NHL players, playing the game is all they've done since the age of five. It's all they know. With an average career length of something like 5 years, players need to make their money in a relatively short period of time. Again for the average player, making say $1 MM per season may sound like a lot, but take off taxes and all sorts of other costs and they likely see half of that in their pockets. If they play for five years, that money might have to last them for the next 40 years. What if they don't hold out and go to camp and seriously injure themselves to the point where they may never be the player they were or could be? They can say goodbye to that long term guaranteed contract that would help set them up for life. So I'm fine with the players holding out if they think it's the right thing to do. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HockeyExpert Posted September 30, 2016 Author Share Posted September 30, 2016 Hockey players are not business people nor are they celebraties with self-inflated egos like Paul McCartney or bSpears who have fans telling them they are gods. Hockey players for the most part are low key figures, many are not recognized in airports, hell i bet 80% of the people here wont recognize most NHL stars if they saw them in real life, so there should be absolutely 0 "i want to get max money" attitude from these players. The fact that you are earning $6 million a year is enough, despite what your agent says. You are a hockey player, you want to play hockey. How are you not surprised you are already getting paid millions, when you were happy to play for free all this time? If you truly love the game why do you care if you make 6.5 or 7.5 million? Also the owners decide on ticket prices, food prices etc the hockey player has no awareness of how much the team makes nor does he care how much profit the owner makes, that is not of his concern if the owner gets rich. The hockey player is here to play hockey not to make as much money as possible, as I already said there has never been a documented case of hockey players only wanting to play for money or only care about money, they love the sport more so why hold out at all if what I just said is true? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gurn Posted September 30, 2016 Share Posted September 30, 2016 Another of those "I would play for free" threads?- Please go to your employer and offer to do your same job for 20% less, then come back and post. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HockeyExpert Posted September 30, 2016 Author Share Posted September 30, 2016 Quote Again for the average player, making say $1 MM per season may sound like a lot, but take off taxes and all sorts of other costs and they likely see half of that in their pockets. If they play for five years, that money might have to last them for the next 40 years. I am not talking about the bottom of the barrel players who are just wanting to make their $1 mill a season and do whatever it takes. I am talking about the superstars who already have the 5-6$ million a year paychecks, who want to get $6-7 million that is where the line is crossed. That extra 1$ million is not going to make an impact on your life at all but it makes you look so so so bad to hold out and it sets a precedent to other people who also now want to hold out. It is shameful to make this about money, I refuse to believe hockey players care about money, they love the game. I have no idea why they hold out, do you? If someone said "You arent geting 30% pay raise only getting 25% pay raise will you still come to work?" Would you actually not show up for work because you didnt get the "MAX" pay raise you want? The fact you are getting a raise at all should be enough, you cant actually think you can get the most every time do you? It is pathetic its shameful that a kid like Johnny is even trying to bargain with a team, a team that developed him, a team that created him a team that gave him the NHL life and this is how he repays their generosity? Horrible, awful way for an athlete to behave, this is why this story is all over the news because this is unheard of and hopefully will not happen again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Apple Juice Posted September 30, 2016 Share Posted September 30, 2016 To be fair, Gaudreau didn't even make a $1 million last year despite his cap hit being close to 2 million. We're talking about a guy who is coming off his entry contract level of 925k to being paid more than 6 million. That's a 600% raise from what he got when he was a rookie. Keep in mind, that yes, as you mentioned, they developed him to become the player that he is today. But in order for them to have his abilities and services, he's asking for them to pay up. Same concept goes for if you want a faster internet connection or a decent one. You want the best service there is? Then you have to pay the premium. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ForsbergTheGreat Posted September 30, 2016 Share Posted September 30, 2016 They are the top 700 players in the world. The majority of professions the top 700 at the profession in the world are also making a ton of money. Average people look at their own life and compare, but it’s so different. Just because you’d be fine with a Honda Civic doesn’t mean they should be. Just because a million dollar would go a long way in your life style doesn’t mean it would in theirs. Your monthly payments might be 2k a month while there is likely closer to 10-20k a month. Again they are the elite at their professions, they are filling a demand. Should they be thankful for being able to do something the love for a living? Sure, But they also sacrificed and risked a lot to get where they are today. They didn’t just wake up one day and decide they were going to be NHL players, they put in a ton of time, commitment, hard works and dedication to reach their level. Hockey players also lose quite a bit of money. Escrow, Taxes, Agent fees take off 40-55%. So yes a difference between 1 million is a big amount. Over a 8 year contract that’s People want to get paid for what they’re worth. That’s no different than any person. If you think you’re worth more you ask for a raise, find a higher paying job or you go on strike (if a union). Since they can’t get raises after signing a contract or find a new profession (outside of the KHL), going on strike for a higher salary is their only option. It’s not about the money as much as it is making sure the you are getting paid for the contribution you are putting in. Hockey isn’t all fun and games as you like to put it. If you see one player making “x” amount and you feel you’re doing more than that player you’re going to want “y” amount. You’re not going to take “x” just out of the goodness of your heart. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jägermeister Posted September 30, 2016 Share Posted September 30, 2016 Lol anybody with any sort of common sense would not willingly do their job for less than they believe could reasonably earn. Why would I work for 60k if I could earn 100k? Why should they work for 3M when they could earn 5M? It's naive to think that they should willingly take less because they love the sport. It's still their livelihood. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bigturk8 Posted September 30, 2016 Share Posted September 30, 2016 12 minutes ago, ForsbergTheGreat said: Should they be thankful for being able to do something the love for a living? Sure, But they also sacrificed and risked a lot to get where they are today. They didn’t just wake up one day and decide they were going to be NHL players, they put in a ton of time, commitment, hard works and dedication to reach their level. This can't be overstated. I think it's lost on a lot of people, just how hard these guys work and how much they sacrifice in doing so. Things like moving to a small town at ages of 15 or 16 to live with strangers and leaving friends and family behind, strictly so they can continue playing at the highest level and give themselves the best chance to succeed. Many forgo education and put all of their eggs in the professional hockey basket which is very risky. I also think it's fair to say that money does weigh into the factor of kids decisions to work so hard at the sport. It's not the only factor, but fortune is one of the reasons being a professional athlete is so desirable. In the end, the NHL is a business, and everybody is there to make money. The fact that they love what they do is simply a perk and a reward for all their hard work. Players deserve to get paid accordingly for their talents. The success of the league (which relies heavily on the players) is directly tied to the salary climate for player contracts. If certain players start settling for less, then it sets a precedent for their skill level and other players will start getting payed less than their worth. That's the opposite of how you want a work force to function. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheRussianRocket. Posted September 30, 2016 Share Posted September 30, 2016 Uhmmmm sorry but no lol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Screw Posted September 30, 2016 Share Posted September 30, 2016 1 hour ago, HockeyExpert said: As an avid hockey fan and a dedicated employee of a hard working union job I never understood why great sportsmen like hockey players hold out over money. There has never been a documented case of a player wanting to be a hockey player for MONEY, all of them do it because they love the game they played as a kid. They are so fortunate that most of them dont even realize how unbelievably lucky they are to play a kids game into their adult hood, to be able to play sports for a living is a huge huge benefit in terms of a life style, in terms of women attention, in terms of health and earnings. So when it comes to money, a few million dollars a year is enough to set anyone up for life. So what gives? Ask your self, if you had a team offering you $6 million a year and your agent is telling you you are worth $7, no way you would sacrifice the game you love for that extra 1 mill because you are already making 6$. At that point in time you will stock pile say 10-20$ mill over your career and an extra 3-4$ mill is not going to break the bank. If the game is truly about the game why do players hold out over money? Thoughts are welcomed! How about someone makes millions off your back and then tells you to do if for the love of the game. These players love hockey but are not fools to be exploited. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike Vanderhoek Posted September 30, 2016 Share Posted September 30, 2016 1 hour ago, Rocksterh8 said: Thats exactly the whole problem with sports, and it's all because people will pay what ever they ask for tickets. Ticket prices are already absurd money and keep getting worse, so much so that a normal family cannot afford to see a game. It's always been about greed, as long as rich pompous "me me me" suites are getting their way, it will never change. I'm also happy to say although I love the game of hockey and watch the Canucks regularly, besides paying for cable, the NHL has never gotten a dime from me and until they become reasonable with pricing, they never will. This happened while the canucks were still at the Coliseum, very unfortunate and insulting as a fan but thats not what matters. Because as much as it is insulting to me and has priced me out of going to games, maybe one game a year now if I am lucky. Others who have the money and many who don't know much about or care to know much about hockey will fill the seats. This is why Vancouver is so quiet and quite frankly disappointing an experience at Rogers. If you can get passed that, it is still a joy to watch the game. But make no mistake, it will continue to go the other way and many more will simply become the " shut ins, the pentioners, the fans who can't get out to hockey games " while those with cash to flash will sit in the seats contributing to an underwhelming atmosphere. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shift-4 Posted September 30, 2016 Share Posted September 30, 2016 2 hours ago, HockeyExpert said: As an avid hockey fan and a dedicated employee of a hard working union job I never understood why great sportsmen like hockey players hold out over money. The disconnect here with the subject matter makes me think this is a troll thread. I hope Lindholm and Gaudreau sit for a long time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stelar Posted September 30, 2016 Share Posted September 30, 2016 2 hours ago, HockeyExpert said: As an avid hockey fan and a dedicated employee of a hard working union job I never understood why great sportsmen like hockey players hold out over money. There has never been a documented case of a player wanting to be a hockey player for MONEY, all of them do it because they love the game they played as a kid. They are so fortunate that most of them dont even realize how unbelievably lucky they are to play a kids game into their adult hood, to be able to play sports for a living is a huge huge benefit in terms of a life style, in terms of women attention, in terms of health and earnings. So when it comes to money, a few million dollars a year is enough to set anyone up for life. So what gives? Ask your self, if you had a team offering you $6 million a year and your agent is telling you you are worth $7, no way you would sacrifice the game you love for that extra 1 mill because you are already making 6$. At that point in time you will stock pile say 10-20$ mill over your career and an extra 3-4$ mill is not going to break the bank. If the game is truly about the game why do players hold out over money? Thoughts are welcomed! Lol, a union guy complaining about people holding out for more money.... priceless.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RWMc1 Posted September 30, 2016 Share Posted September 30, 2016 Shouldn't sit out like that Johnny! My grandma sat out like that once. Once!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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