A $6.5 million Stanley Cup reward? Other sports in the U.S. pay even more

Any hockey player will tell you that the most valuable thing he can achieve in his career is to win the Stanley Cup. To be among the lucky few in a season who have the honor of having their name indelibly engraved on the silver grail. Beyond that, though, hockey players also play for fat bonuses that afford more than just paying the tab for their buddies at the restaurant.

It’s also no surprise that players overseas collect significantly more for winning the league. There are tables for this, which are set by each competition itself, usually according to its economic strength. For advancing to the first round of the Stanley Cup alone, the organization receives $426,688. That’s almost 10 million crowns.

Naturally, the higher a team moves up in the NHL, the higher the reward. In the second round, it is already double, and the organization receives $6,539,375 from the league for winning the famous cup. That’s more than 150 million crowns.

If the team consists of 27 players, it is almost 242 thousand dollars per player (over 5.5 million crowns). All of this means that every player really gets to make that amount. There is, in other words, no league determination of exactly how to divide the bonuses among the players.

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“In talking to several former players about playoff money, it became clear that there is no single formula that divides it up,” writes journalist Chris Johnston at The Athletic. Adding that players who spent less time on the winning team’s roster during the season also received a smaller share of the pay.

Another player admitted that he didn’t even receive any money at all, despite appearing in several playoff games in his rookie year.

In other leagues, even more money

In other North American professional sports leagues, players collect even more in various competitions. The Kansas City Chiefs players received $338,000 (almost 7.8 million crowns) individually for winning the Super Bowl in February.

Members of the Boston Celtics could even earn more than $800,000 (18.4 million crowns) if they win in the NBA Finals. But it’s not as if all players in the world leagues keep the bonus money in their accounts. In the later part of the season, for example, they use their money to pay for their families and friends to travel to games.

For example, one of the last Stanley Cup champions received a $150,000 bonus after a winning season.

Source: The Athletic