Are the Two Sides Really That Far Apart in the NHL CBA Talks?

Gary Bettman’s reaction to the NHL’s latest proposal was a pose of panic.

When the players came out with three proposals designed to end the lockout last week, it seemed as if Bettman was more intent on making a demonstration than he was on keeping the discussion moving forward and getting the season going.

There was little discussion of the specifics of the proposal. While the NHLPA does not want to discuss issues like term limits and player free-agency eligibility, there was actually some agreement on the financial piece of the proposal.

According to a report by James Mirtle in The Globe and Mail, Proposal No. 1 put forth by NHLPA chief Donald Fehr would give the players 50 percent of hockey-related revenues (HRR).

It was 57 percent for the 2011-12 season and the players’ proposal calls for that figure to decrease gradually from the 2012-13 season through the following four years.

Under the league’s proposal, the players’ share would be 50 percent starting in 2012-13.

So while the players eventually get to that position, the league demands that kind of capitulation in the first year.

The players’ proposal indicated a league-wide revenue growth of five percent per season. The difference in revenue received in the five years of the proposal is $545.92 million. That’s an average of slightly more than $109 million in each of those years.

The biggest shortfall is in the first year of the proposal. The players’ proposal indicates that their share is $1.920 billion, while the league proposes $1.734 billion. That’s a difference of approximately $186 million.

The $109-million-per-year difference represents approximately a three percent differential of HRR between what the league wants to pay and what the players believe their share should be.

That’s not a huge amount, but it’s not insignificant either. It doesn’t seem that a three percent difference should be enough to shut down the NHL for a full season.

However, the fact that both sides are in agreement on what the players’ share should be in the fifth year of the agreement is a strong positive.

There should be some room for compromise from both sides over the first four years.

Also, issues like term limits and free agency are not going to disappear simply because the NHLPA doesn’t want to discuss them. It’s unlikely Bettman is just going to let those issues disappear even if agreement on the finances is eventually reached.

As Mirtle points out, there are still significant differences in the financial proposals of the two sides, even if the amounts are not huge. The non-financial issues remain on the table.

The two sides remain far apart.