NHL Presents Collective Bargaining Proposal

[KingLouieLouie]

http://www.nhlcbanews.com/news/proposal_release020205.html

NHL PRESENTS COLLECTIVE BARGAINING PROPOSAL;
UNPRECEDENTED PROFIT-SHARING ELEMENT INCLUDED

NEW YORK (Feb. 2, 2005) - The National Hockey League today formalized a new Collective Bargaining Agreement proposal and presented it to the NHL Players' Association in a continuing effort to create an economic partnership and to return the game to the ice.

The proposal features the establishment of a profit-sharing plan in which the Players and Clubs would share fairly in the health and profitability of the industry -- an undertaking unprecedented in the history of major professional sports in North America.

The proposal also includes a number of areas in which the League has compromised to address player concerns. These areas include: the maintenance of player contract "guarantees" and the salary arbitration system, the establishment of a jointly monitored accounting and audit function, and a Joint Owner-Player Council to ensure that the Players have a meaningful voice in all issues relating to the Game.

The entire proposal is available online. Highlights of the new proposal include:

1. A term of six (6) full seasons (through 2010-11), with a unilateral right granted in favor of the Union to reopen the Agreement after the fourth full season;

2. A League-wide Player Compensation Range, which again increases the League's offer on maximum Player Compensation from 54% to 55% of League-wide Revenues and guarantees that Players will receive a minimum payment of 53% of League-wide Revenues;

3. A Floating Team Payroll Range, which would obligate each Club to pay its Players no less than $32 million and no more than $42 million in Player Compensation on an annualized basis. The Payroll Range would be adjusted every year to reflect changes in League-wide Revenues;

4. The maintenance of Player Contract "Guarantees" in their current form;

5. A profit-sharing plan pursuant to which the Players would share in League profitability over a negotiated level on a 50/50 basis;

6. The implementation of a jointly monitored accounting and audit function, with multi-million dollar fines -- and forfeited Draft choices -- the penalty for failure to disclose required financial information;

7. The establishment of a Joint Owner-Player Council to discuss various business and game-related issues;

8. Recognizing a shortened regular season with a full Playoff, a distribution of revenues generated from the 2005 Stanley Cup Playoffs to ensure that the Players receive the agreed-upon 53% of League Revenues;

9. A revised Entry Level System which preserves each Player's ability to negotiate performance bonuses and which incorporates an additional League-wide bonus structure for outstanding performance on a League-wide basis;

10. A revised Salary Arbitration System with expanded election rights for both Players and Clubs;

11. A proposed reduction in the age for Unrestricted Free Agency to age 30, with a possible further reduction to age 28 (tied to salary arbitration);

12. A 62% increase in the League's Minimum Salary to $300,000 per year; and

13. The use of a Payroll Tax on Clubs within the Floating Team Payroll Range at the Union's sole discretion.

link to the entire proposal:
http://www.nhlcbanews.com/news/nhlproposal020205.html-

 

[KingLouieLouie]

http://sports.espn.go.com/nhl/news/story?id=1982377

ESPN.com news services

The NHL and the players' association changed their meeting location Wednesday, but neither side changed its position, leaving the balance of the 2004-05 season in jeopardy.

The NHL presented a proposal -- the first by either side since mid-December -- that contained salary ranges and profit sharing, but still tied salaries to revenues, something the association views as unacceptable.

"The league today presented a written proposal with minor variations of concepts that were presented orally by the NHL last Thursday," NHLPA senior director said in a written statement. "We told the league last week and again today that their multilayered salary cap proposals were not the basis for an agreement.

"Given the status of negotiations, the NHLPA suggested that the parties meet again tomorrow with [NHLPA executive director] Bob Goodenow and [NHL commissioner] Gary Bettman joining the meeting."

Bettman accepted and is set to rejoin the talks Thursday for the first time since Dec. 14. He'll meet with union head Goodenow.

Wednesday was the fifth consecutive meeting between the sides without Goodenow and Bettman in attendance. It was also the 140th day of the lockout, the longest work stoppage in league history, which has forced the cancellation of 762 of the 1,230 regular-season games plus the All-Star Game.

The main features of the NHL's offer are a "floating team payroll range" and a "league-wide player compensation range." Teams' player costs would be set at a minimum of $32 million and a maximum $42 million. Those amounts would be adjusted yearly based on a percentage of league-wide revenues -- an increase from 54 percent in 2003-04 to a maximum of 55 percent, with a guaranteed minimum of 53 percent.

The league also offered the union the option of implementing a payroll at thresholds and rates to be negotiated. Although the league did not specify how those funds would be redistributed, the mechanism could discourage teams from spending, thus keeping a majority of team's payrolls near the low end of the range.

The league also proposed a 50-50 profit-sharing plan beyond a negotiated level -- a first in North American sports history -- and accepted the union's offer of 24 percent across-the-board salary rollback for all remaining years of all existing contracts, according to the league's Web site.

The meeting was the first face-to-face talks since last Thursday, when the sides wrapped up a two-day meeting that started in Toronto.

If Wednesday's meeting does not lead to serious negotiations, the NHL could become the first major professional league to cancel an entire season because of a work stoppage.