I know a guy who is trying to sign for a minor-league team that is asking for at least $10,000.00 U.S.D. (or equivalent in other currency) a week or $480,000 a year minimum. I can only find info on high-tier professional hockey teams and major leagues; nothing much on small leagues and ones unlisted on NHL.com. Is it possible to earn that much money by joining an unlisted league for the first time?
2 Answers
If your friend is good enough he can ask for whatever he wants. I had friends play minor league hockey for $250 a game plus room and board. Another to the equivalent to 30k a year.
The fact is some NHL players don't make that amount and certainly only top players in Europe make that. So your friend making that much money from some small time team seems dubious at best to me. If he were good enough to make that kind of money he would be playing for a top league where that money was more normal. The only reason I can see is if your friend was kicked out of the top league (drugs/suspension).
Extremely unlikely if not practically impossible (I have never even heard of minor-league players earning 100K per year, let alone nearly half a million dollars for a first season of play).
I'd imagine he could make that much in a matter of years, but it is almost guaranteed to never happen in minor-league, especially as a first-timer. At best your friend would likely be capable of making $30,000-$70,000 and even that might be a stretch for some.
If anyone in minor-league is making over 400K a year it's probably an extreme rarity as I have never heard of anyone claim such high pay seriously in my time as a player/coach.
