NHL Asks Employees to Take Pay Cut During Coronavirus Outbreak
NHL Asks Employees to Take Pay Cut During Coronavirus Outbreak
(Bloomberg) -- The NHL, which has suspended its regular season because of the coronavirus outbreak, is asking league employees to take a pay cut.
The reductions will be around 25% and affect employees making more than about $75,000, according to a person familiar with the matter. NHL Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly confirmed that the league was making the cuts, but declined to comment further. The move would apply to league personnel, such as NHL executives, not team staffs and players.
The NHL paused its regular season on March 12 -- with 189 games still remaining on teams’ schedules -- part of a nearly total shutdown of sports in the U.S. and many other countries stricken by the virus. A day earlier, the National Basketball Association suspended its season after a player tested positive for Covid-19.
The NHL and NBA are hoping to resume either their regular seasons or playoffs when the health emergency subsides.
Teams have also begun asking personnel to take pay cuts.
Harris Blitzer Sports & Entertainment, the parent of basketball’s Philadelphia 76ers and hockey’s New Jersey Devils, has asked employees making more than $100,000 to take a 20% reduction until June.
The NBA didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment about whether its employees would also be asked to take pay cuts.
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