Report: NHL Will Pay $300M in Signing Bonuses Amid Suspended Season

Timothy Rapp @@TRappaRTFeatured ColumnistJuly 1, 2020

Toronto Maple Leafs center Auston Matthews reacts after scoring a goal against the San Jose Sharks during the second period of an NHL hockey game in San Jose, Calif., Tuesday, March 3, 2020. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu)

Jeff Chiu/Associated Press

The NHL will reportedly pay out the $300 million owed to players in signing bonuses Wednesday as scheduled, according to a report from Emily Kaplan of ESPN.

Per that report, the decision to "pay players, and not defer, was made on Tuesday between the NHL and NHLPA. The two sides are in ongoing negotiations about the league's plans to restart with a 24-team tournament in two hub cities this summer. The sides have yet to finalize the health and safety protocols for games, or announce the two hub cities."

Among the locations being considered are Toronto, Edmonton, Las Vegas and Chicago, though "there is momentum for two Canadian hub cities to be chosen given the recent spike of COVID-19 cases in several U.S. states."

To date, the United States has seen 2.6 million people diagnosed with the coronavirus and 127,410 deaths, per CNN.com. Canada has seen 106,097 cases and 8,650 deaths.

As for the signing bonuses, the top bonuses will be paid out to the following players, according to Kaplan and CapFriendly.com:

Toronto Maple Leafs C Auston Matthews: $15.2 million
Toronto Maples Leafs RW Mitch Marner: $14.3 million
Edmonton Oilers C Connor McDavid: $13 million
New York Rangers LW Artemi Panarin: $12 million

✨ Watch more top videos, highlights, and B/R original content

There are also some uncertainties regarding salaries and signing bonuses going forward, as TSN's Bob McKenzie outlined:

Bob McKenzie @TSNBobMcKenzie
Escrow will also need to be factored in on SB but at what rate? Projected 20 per cent figure for 20-21? Or a lesser number than that? As Jethro Bodine ( you kids look it up) might say, lots of cipherin to be done.

Eric Engels of Sportsnet also noted that many players reportedly don't want to resume the 2019-20 season at all amid the COVID-19 pandemic:

Eric Engels @EricEngels
Another player said that calls with the NHLPA have been “a joke” and that they have only revolved around the financial situation. 3/

Eric Engels @EricEngels
All players I spoke with are frustrated about being kept largely in the dark about how they’ll safely be able to resume play. 5/5

So a lot remains up in the air regarding this season and contracts. It appears that the players will be getting their owed signing bonuses on time, however.