Jared Cowen signed to 1.325 mil/season, 3 year deal

rooneypoo wrote:

Dash wrote:Isn't that what I said? I said base salary which is less than you see there (the 1.325), which ends up being $900K. The signing bonus, you said 425K, brings it to the 1.325. Then I'm sure if he plays X amount of games, scores X amount of points, etc. he gets more, right?

Well, your original post made it sound like the whole amount ($1.325) was set by a formula. The CBA determines the max salary we can pay him ($900K). The signing bonus can be anywhere from a few 10s of thousands to millions, and there is no mechanism for determining who gets what.

The base salary, and the bonus, all get worked out through negotiation, just like any other contract.

As for how bonus works, that's always been something of a mystery to me. As far as I can tell, it seems like all these kids earn their bonuses because they're "signing" bonuses and not performance bonuses, tho'.

Yeah, as far as I knew, the base salary was determined on what position you are drafted. Signing bonuses are up to the player/agent. I know some don't even get any - as in the case of Paul Byron, he was set to sign and his dad told him to hold out until he got a signing bonus, so he asked for one, and Buffalo refused. He would eventually sign, but took longer than was supposed to.

hemlock wrote:

rooneypoo wrote:

Dash wrote:Isn't that what I said? I said base salary which is less than you see there (the 1.325), which ends up being $900K. The signing bonus, you said 425K, brings it to the 1.325. Then I'm sure if he plays X amount of games, scores X amount of points, etc. he gets more, right?

Well, your original post made it sound like the whole amount ($1.325) was set by a formula. The CBA determines the max salary we can pay him ($900K). The signing bonus can be anywhere from a few 10s of thousands to millions, and there is no mechanism for determining who gets what.

The base salary, and the bonus, all get worked out through negotiation, just like any other contract.

As for how bonus works, that's always been something of a mystery to me. As far as I can tell, it seems like all these kids earn their bonuses because they're "signing" bonuses and not performance bonuses, tho'.

I was under the impression they were performance bonuses (at least some
of them) but that teams made sure they were easily ottainable, so in
essense, it's guaranteed salary. Also, I thought the rookie salary max
was 850k was it not?

EDIT: The cap for salary including bonuses is $3.725 million.

The max base salary a player can earn on an ELC is now $900K. It inches upwards a bit each year -- starting with $850K, then $875K, and now $900K. It's a year by year thing determined by the CBA.

Yes, as far as I know, these kids with big signing bonuses invariably earn them as long as they play.

Your max figure sounds right to me -- it's what CHI is paying Kane and TOR Bozak (!). That would make for a maximum bonus of $2.85 mil. I'm guessing that number inches up year by year, too, but I don't know that for sure.

rooneypoo wrote:

hemlock wrote:

rooneypoo wrote:

Dash wrote:Isn't that what I said? I said base salary which is less than you see there (the 1.325), which ends up being $900K. The signing bonus, you said 425K, brings it to the 1.325. Then I'm sure if he plays X amount of games, scores X amount of points, etc. he gets more, right?

Well, your original post made it sound like the whole amount ($1.325) was set by a formula. The CBA determines the max salary we can pay him ($900K). The signing bonus can be anywhere from a few 10s of thousands to millions, and there is no mechanism for determining who gets what.

The base salary, and the bonus, all get worked out through negotiation, just like any other contract.

As for how bonus works, that's always been something of a mystery to me. As far as I can tell, it seems like all these kids earn their bonuses because they're "signing" bonuses and not performance bonuses, tho'.

I was under the impression they were performance bonuses (at least some
of them) but that teams made sure they were easily ottainable, so in
essense, it's guaranteed salary. Also, I thought the rookie salary max
was 850k was it not?

EDIT: The cap for salary including bonuses is $3.725 million.

The max base salary a player can earn on an ELC is now $900K. It inches upwards a bit each year -- starting with $850K, then $875K, and now $900K. It's a year by year thing determined by the CBA.

Yes, as far as I know, these kids with big signing bonuses invariably earn them as long as they play.

Your max figure sounds right to me -- it's what CHI is paying Kane and TOR Bozak (!). That would make for a maximum bonus of $2.85 mil. I'm guessing that number inches up year by year, too, but I don't know that for sure.

I didn't know the max salary increased as the years went by, so thanks for clearing that up. I wonder though, if the $900k max is now only applicable to players who sign starting now. In other words, could a player have signed a deal last year when the max was $875k so that it paid $875k last season, $900k this season and so on? I don't suppose it makes much of a difference, I'm just curious.

hemlock wrote:

I didn't know the max salary increased as the years went by, so thanks for clearing that up. I wonder though, if the $900k max is now only applicable to players who sign starting now. In other words, could a player have signed a deal last year when the max was $875k so that it paid $875k last season, $900k this season and so on? I don't suppose it makes much of a difference, I'm just curious.

Yeah, when you sign your ELC has everything to do with how much you can demand as your max base salary on an ELC. I don' know precisely when we crossed that line -- I presume July 1st, which is when everything seems to happen in this league.

Ah. Here it is.

CBA, article 9.3:

9.3 Entry Level Compensation Limits.

(a) The maximum annual aggregate Paragraph 1 NHL Salary, Signing
Bonuses and games played bonuses permitted to be paid to a Group 1 Player shall be as follows:

Draft Year NHL Compensation
2005 US$ 850,000
2006 US$ 850,000
2007 US$ 875,000
2008 US$ 875,000
2009 US$ 900,000
2010 US$ 900,000
2011 US$ 925,000

Nice, thanks doc.

rooneypoo wrote:

hemlock wrote:

I didn't know the max salary increased as the years went by, so thanks for clearing that up. I wonder though, if the $900k max is now only applicable to players who sign starting now. In other words, could a player have signed a deal last year when the max was $875k so that it paid $875k last season, $900k this season and so on? I don't suppose it makes much of a difference, I'm just curious.

Yeah, when you sign your ELC has everything to do with how much you can demand as your max base salary on an ELC. I don' know precisely when we crossed that line -- I presume July 1st, which is when everything seems to happen in this league.

Ah. Here it is.

CBA, article 9.3:

9.3 Entry Level Compensation Limits.

(a) The maximum annual aggregate Paragraph 1 NHL Salary, Signing
Bonuses and games played bonuses permitted to be paid to a Group 1 Player shall be as follows:

Draft Year NHL Compensation
2005 US$ 850,000
2006 US$ 850,000
2007 US$ 875,000
2008 US$ 875,000
2009 US$ 900,000
2010 US$ 900,000
2011 US$ 925,000

That's only an increase of 8.8% over 6 years. It's time these guys get a union ... :busy: