Gary Bettman close to 5 year extension to remain commissioner of NHL through end of 2027 season

[EazyE1]

How much does he get paid anyway?

edit: google says bettman ~3 or 4 million
NFLs guy.. ~60 million..

 

[Deadpool8812]

How much does he get paid anyway?

Wasn't there a report a few years ago that he made over $7m a season?

I think his salary is based on league revenue

 

[Voight]

How much does he get paid anyway?

edit: google says bettman ~3 or 4 million
NFLs guy.. ~60 million..

I mean, the NFL does makes 4x the revenue the NHL does.

They also seem to have more crisis'/controversy so as much as I dislike Goodell, that part ain't easy.

 

[Voight]

He will be 75 by the end of the 2027 season. I think this will be his last contract.

We said the same things about Selig and he stayed on until he was 80 so I wouldn't get your hopes up.

 

[Beukeboom]

Can anyone here give an actually legitimate reason as to why this is a bad thing? People love to jump on the bandwagon to boo and disparage him, but he’s done a good job growing the sport and keeping it alive even throughout pandemic disrupted seasons.

What exactly are you looking for and expecting if not that?

I'd say we don't know what kind of fresh ideas we miss out on due to the same guy ruling for soon three decades. In general the thought of someone remaining at the top for that long is pretty so so.

Why not let go after 25 years, enjoy life in your 70's and see what someone else could bring to the table? Power creates greed...

 

[Celtic Note]

I'd say we don't know what kind of fresh ideas we miss out on due to the same guy ruling for soon three decades. In general the thought of someone remaining at the top for that long is pretty so so.

Why not let go after 25 years, enjoy life in your 70's and see what someone else could bring to the table? Power creates greed...

You answered your own question to some degree in your last sentence. But greed is caused by our egos. Bettman certainly let’s his ego run unchecked.

 

[Voight]

The worst part is Daly is almost guaranteed to take over when Bettman retires meaning we will be stuck with more of the same for a long time.

Personally, I think they should be hiring people across all levels. I.e. someone like Shanny or Yzerman who have played in the league, been in management and in Shannys case worked for the league office. Much better to have a guy who knows the game rather than a corporate stooge lawyer running the show.

 

[TheTotalPackage]

I will always continue to believe that he has held the league back from having grown even bigger than it has over the past three decades. Not a fan of his, but it could be worse. That being said, his extension is not surprising one bit.

 

[MikeFolignosHelmet]

Hating on Gary reminds me of "The Emperor's New Clothes". So group thinky

 

[ClydeLee]

Don't get this simplified, he grew the sport when he just coasted on the sports world growing immensely, and cost plenty of actual growth. NHL was losing ground to soccer/MLS in his era.

Plenty chances to actually at least hitch a ride higher with NFL/NBA rises were lost. The NBC deal is over with and what on earth did that do positive? Does anyone actually think the NBC deal was a positive gain? Meanwhile ESPN had a prime come and gone and they didn't have hockey so they rarely talked it. I know everyone here was sick of all the Ovi vs Sid or rise of Blackhawks and Kings or other big markets of the NBC era, but had they actually still been on ESPN, they would of been a bigger talking point there too to be a bigger shown draw. You had to be a hockey fan to look for nbcsn, there was hardly enough effort to even get some like NBC Sports with NFL Sunday crossover promotion of the league, so weekend NBC rare games weren't a big common chance to draw anyway

There's so much more growth that could of happened and isn't. And owners are being foolish I guess hoping there's no big changes in concussion or cte findings or court cases, since having the league head deniner still in charge could be bad financially.

 

[BagHead]

Hating on Gary reminds me of "The Emperor's New Clothes". So group thinky

While I'm inclined to agree, and have been equal parts annoyed and amused at the booing Bettman receives in public, I will say that the league could use a fresh perspective.

It seems to me that in the last 10-15 years the league, it's image, and how it markets itself has really stagnated. Outdoor games have become too plentiful and have lost their novelty because of it, production value has tanked (IMO), and the games have actually gotten harder to view (they're spread out over multiple channels, behind big paywalls. At this point it's almost cheaper for me to play organized hockey than watch it). And all of that hasn't even touched on the need for change in hockey's, and the league's, culture. Commissioners aren't fully responsible for all of that, but it's a very high-up position in hockey's flagship league, so a change there would create ripples. I think the league is ready for a change.