Every commissioner has to deal with labor agreements expiring, and the good ones handle the situation in the sport’s offseason. In the worst case scenario, commissioners try to work hard to minimize the number of games lost if an agreement is not reached by the time the season starts. NHL commissioner Gary Bettman has been the example of what not to do as commissioner. Since 1993, Bettman had three lockouts and no success getting the players and owners to come to any sort of deal.
Bettman’s first lockout occurred before the 1994-95 season. The main issue was the implementation of a salary cap. Half way through the year, the owners and Bettman caved in to reach a deal. At the end of the labor dispute, none of the owners’ demands were met. This resulted in the NHL season lasting 48 games instead of 84 that year.
After the 1994-95 season ended, the NHL faced ten years of peace until the worst lockout situation in American sports history. In 2004, Bettman and the owners once again locked out the players. The main area of disagreement between the two sides was the growth in player salaries. The owners and Bettman argued that player salaries grew faster than the revenue growth of the league. Bettman claimed that the disconnect between the growth of the league and player salaries cost the NHL up to $300 million. Bettman and the owners’ desire for a salary cap to try and solve this problem led them to not back down this time.
The result was the cancellation of the entire 2004 NHL season. This is significant because it was the first time any sports league in North America had to cancel an entire season of action. Many people praised Bettman for getting the NHL to have a salary cap, but wondered if it was worth the negative effects against the league by the fans.
While hockey is not viewed as America’s most favorite sport, its constant action, with just the right mix of speed, athleticism and the good old fashioned violence quite entertaining to watch. Hockey’s fan base may not be as large as that of the NFL or the NBA; it still attracts a large group of very loyal and dedicated fans. Many NHL fans were outraged that a whole season of hockey was missed. In addition, NHL lost their network deal with ESPN, which made it harder to watch hockey games on television, hurting the leagues exposure.
Many fans cannot afford a season pass for hockey on pay per view, so the best way to attract new fans is to be on national television or networks most people have like ESPN. While hockey does have a deal with NBC, only a few games are shown each year.
After the lockout, the NHL had to do a lot to build up their popularity. One of the ways the NHL did this was to hold the annual Winter Classic game every January, where two teams play an entire hockey game outside.
After having the worst lockout in American sport’s history, one would imagine Bettman would not allow this to happen again. However, he did, and half the season has already been canceled including the Winter Classic. Bettman and the owners are also going to war with the players over revenue sharing, as players used to get 57 percent, and now they want the players to receive 47 percent. Bettman wants the owners to control a majority of the revenue, but while he fights for what he and his employers want, the league is losing money. Heading down the path of canceling yet another season of NHL hockey would be detrimental to the leagues popularity.
Bettman has proved himself one of the most incompetent commissioners of all time who puts his and the owners’ personal interests before the good of the league. The blow to the NHL’s popularity will keep the league from growing to new heights and making it impossible for hockey to get anywhere near the popularity of the NBA and NFL. It is ironic that the first three letters of Bettman is “bet” because right now he is treating the future of the NHL season like a trip to a Mohegan Sun casino. When someone is placing a bet, it is important for them and the people involved to have faith, and right now many sports fans like myself have no faith in the direction Bettman is taking the NHL.
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