NASHVILLE -- The NHL salary cap for the 2023-24 season will be $83.5 million, the League and NHL Players' Association announced Wednesday. The lower limit will be $61.7 million.
The salary cap was $82.5 million this season after being $81.5 million in each of the previous three seasons.
The salary cap has been considered flat since 2020-21 because the players have been paying off the approximate $1.5 billion escrow debt they incurred in 2019-20, when the season was paused because of the coronavirus pandemic.
During the pause, hockey-related revenues flatlined, but the players were still being paid, thus giving them more than the 50 percent share of hockey related revenue allotted to them under the terms of the NHL/NHLPA Collective Bargaining Agreement.
Instead of collecting the debt owed all at once, the NHL spread it out with the idea that it would be paid off in several years. The original projection had the debt being paid off during or after the 2024-25 season, but revenue growth has been strong, allowing for it to be repaid sooner.
The cap will go up approximately $4 million for the 2024-25 season because the escrow debt is expected to be paid off.
"We're back from COVID pretty strong," NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman said at the League's General Managers' meetings in March. "Our revenues are approaching the $6 billion range and they're at an all-time high. Attendance is strong. TV media revenues is strong. Sponsorship support is great. We're doing well. The escrow is coming down. When we started this, there was a lot of skepticism of how the $1.5 billion was going to be repaid. But the fact is we're in the home stretch on that."
