With the NHL lurching back into competition, players and staff alike are trying to strike a delicate balance. Yes, it feels good to see players in competition. And it will give many fans something to cheer for during a difficult time. But above all, this was a financial decision. Just maybe not the kind you’re thinking of. “It’s totally just trying to minimize loss,” said Moshe Lander, a senior economics lecturer at Concordia University in Montreal.
He said professional sports leagues around the world aren’t pushing to get back into action to make money. Rather, he said, they’re doing everything possible to limit heavy losses. Teams are set to lose $150 million to $200 million in ticket sales alone this postseason, even if play does resume as planned. And that doesn’t even consider concessions or merchandise.
“For the league, it’s about the inventory,” said former player and broadcaster Nick Kypreos. Kypreos was one of the biggest names at Sportsnet when the network spent $12 billion to buy the rights to broadcast NHL games in Canada. Now, he’s host of The RealKyper at Noon streamed by the sports betting company Line Movement.
“That’s a lot of games, a lot of advertising, a lot of sponsorship money,” said Kypreos. “If [NHL Commissioner] Gary Bettman and the league don’t get those games back in, he’s gonna owe SportsNet and NBC a lot.” If the league doesn’t deliver the promised content to broadcasters, there will be a debt to pay. It’s unclear what that will look like or how much it will amount to.
That potential for chaos is not unique to the NHL. Every major sports league is scrambling right now. Major League Baseball is still trying to salvage its own deal to return to play.
Both the NBA and Major League Soccer are readying to resume their seasons sequestered inside Walt Disney World as the case load soars around them in Florida. Star players in both leagues have tested positive for COVID-19 and two MLS teams have already been forced to withdraw from the tournament.
ESPN reported that the NBA’s resumption plan alone will cost more than $150 million. The best-case scenario from this situation: playing the least profitable season in modern professional sports history.
Source: CBC
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