NHL free agency has been going on and it’s certainly been a wild time. Guys like Johnny Gaudreau, Jack Campbell, Claude Giroux, and Curtis Lazar are all going to be playing for new teams next season. While NHL free agency is going on, the NBA free agency is also still going on and some of the signings that a few max contract players made earlier this month are almost more than 35 combined NHL contracts.
According to Spotrac on Twitter, when the first 35 free agents signed in the NHL, it was worth a combined $265 million. Nikola Jokic of the Denver Nuggets recently signed a five-year $264 million supermax extension with the Denver Nuggets. This means that he’s almost making as much as 35 guys in the NHL do.
Per @spotrac, 35 free agent signings in the NHL so far have totaled $265 million.
That's basically the same as Nikola Jokic's extension with the Nuggets. 🤯 pic.twitter.com/b4sI55mbvx
— Boardroom (@boardroom) July 13, 2022
Why Do NHL Players Get Paid Less Than NBA Players?
There are a few different reasons why the NHL doesn’t have the same type of contracts that leagues like the MLB, NBA, or NFL have. The biggest one is because of the smaller revenue from TV deals. The National Football League, Major League Baseball, and the National Basketball Association all have huge TV deals and that allows them to make plenty of money. The National Hockey League certainly has a few great deals in place, but it doesn’t compare to what the NBA and other leagues can offer.
This likely isn’t going to change anytime soon because in terms of sports watched, the NBA, MLB, and NFL are always going to be at the top in America.
Nikola Jokic and the Nuggets Have a Big Year
Outside of the huge contract that Nikola Jokic just signed with the Denver Nuggets, this is going to be a huge year for the Denver Nuggets. Denver had to deal with a few tough injuries to both their second and third-best players in Jamal Murray and Michael Porter Jr. With both of them being injured, it was tough for them to get anything done. Now looking forward to this season, the Nuggets have a legitimate chance of winning an NBA title. The first thing that they’re going to have to worry about is getting all those guys back fully healthy and from there, some good things should be able to happen.
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