COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. -- The NHL projects that revenue for this season will be about $6.8 billion, commissioner Gary Bettman said on Tuesday.
Bettman, speaking at the NHL Board of Governor meetings, said that's on track with what the NHL was expecting and should not change the salary cap figures the NHL and NHLPA have already agreed to for the next two seasons.
The salary cap is calculated based off of a formula that takes into account the previous season's hockey related revenue. Last January, the NHL and NHLPA announced salary cap ranges for the next three seasons -- a rare move, which the sides said would to "provide increased predictability on core salary cap economics," in a joint release. This represented the most significant jumps since the salary cap was implemented in 2005.
The NHL is operating with an upper limit of $95.5 million for this season, which is expected to increase to $104 million in 2026-27 and $113.5 million in 2027-28.
The salary cap floor is $70.6 million this season and projected at $76.9 million in '26-27 and $83.9 million in '27-28.
"When we did it, we had a good guess of what the Rogers deal was going to be, and took that into account," Bettman said. "So it was good projections."
In April, Rogers re-upped its contract as the national rights holder in Canada for 11 years and $11 billion CAD (which is slightly less than $8 billion USD). The US rights deals expire after the 2027-28 season.
Media rights deals are significant sources of revenue for the league, as well as ticket sales. Jersey and board advertisements have helped increase revenue lately, and the NHL is hoping to capture momentum after the 2026 Olympics this February, in which NHL players are due to participate for the first time since 2014.
