Are the high salaries that top players earn in the NHL justified?

Question

Are the high salaries that top players earn in the NHL justified?

Answer 1

who on earth can justify making 8 or 10M+ a season for playing a sport?  i know i'll get thumbs down, but i think it's ridiculous the amount of money any professional sports player makes these days.  

Answer 2

Maybe I'm just biased because I'm from Pittsburgh and love hockey, but if it weren't for Mario Lemieux getting paid out of the butt for playing hockey, I'm certain the Penguins wouldn't be in Pittsburgh...

So yes, I guess you could say I think it's justified for specific players... Players who give back to the community with that high salary they earn.

Answer 3

Yes..they bring the crowds to the rinks (just like movie stars bring people to theatres)...they also sell a lot of jerseys of the top players....more $$$$ for all the owners no matter which team signs them.

No..mediocre players are not worth the money they are getting..they should be getting minimum wage and working as waiters in the off-season..(like the bit players in the movies)

Answer 4

ovechkin brings almost as much money to the caps as he makes their ticket sales have skyrocketed this season.  I think ovie desereves the salary he gets

Answer 5

Yes they are, hockey is probably the most physically demanding sport there is.most hockey players deserve way more money than they are making now.look at the money football, basketball, and baseball players make.let me put it to you this way anyone is capable of playing the other sports, maybe not at the same level as professional players, but there are very few people that can skate and play hockey.

Answer 6

Well they are in every other sport, Why wouldn't they be in Hockey? Top players is what you go to see, not the fourth line Plumbers. They also sell merchandise  for the team. They pay their own way.  

Answer 7

If the owners are stopped from paying more than 53% of the revenue on the players salaries who do you think is getting the other 47%?

Right the guy who writes the cheque.

Answer 8

No. All athletes are overpaid

Answer 9

On one hand, people really dont deserve that much money for playing sports.  On the other hand, pro sports is a lucrative businesses.  It only makes sense that the people actually going out there and creating the product get a large portion of the revenue.  Its pretty much the same for a lot businesses.  Do the people who created Napster or Girls Gone Wild really deserve to be filthy rich?  No, but their products sell so who else should be getting the profits.

Add:  I do have a problem with the salary structure though.  The best player should be making the max allowable salary and the worst player should make the minimum salary.  Everbody else should should fill in the gaps PROPORTIONATLY.   Guys like Campbell making more than Lidstrom is just insane.

Answer 10

I understand all the reasoning for how high they are. I also love the game and think sports are a healthy part of our existence.

But all in all, athletes and entertainers are grossly overpaid when compared to police officers, firemen, soldiers, and teachers. They should all earn at least what lawyers and doctors get.

Before I was ruled "disabled" I earned more money as a machine mechanic than those who contribute more to our societal welfare than fixing mechanical problems ever could.

Just my inflation-adjusted two cents worth.