NHL's Bettman Earned More Than $8.8M In Salary, Benefits During '12-13 Season

NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman earned more than $8.8M in salary and benefits during the lockout-abbreviated '12-13 season, "up $500,000 from the previous year," according to a tax filing cited by Christopher Botta of SPORTSBUSINESS JOURNAL. Bettman’s total compensation in '11-12, the NHL’s last full season before the lockout, was $8.3M. Bettman’s base salary for the '12-13 season was $8.78M. Payment defined as other compensation was $75,568. The '12-13 season "linked with this latest tax filing was shortened to 48 regular-season games." The NHL posted $2.4B in revenue for that season, "a year in which the league did not have an NHL Winter Classic or an All-Star Game, key revenue generators for the league." The annual tax filing "covers the NHL’s central business operations and does not include the team-level business that plays a part in setting the league’s total revenue for a season." The filing also "does not include the revenue and expenses of NHL Enterprises or the NHL Network, which are not tax-exempt groups and therefore do not have the same IRS filing requirements." The league on the whole posted a loss for its business of $71.9M "for the lockout-shortened season" versus a loss of $3.6M the previous season. Expenses rose from $106M to $113M, while revenue decreased from $102.5M to $41.2M (SPORTSBUSINESS JOURNAL, 8/4 issue). YAHOO SPORTS' Sean Leahy noted the NHL's revenues over a 10-year span have grown from $2.1B to $3.6B and Bettman "has had a lot to do with that," from the outdoor games "to new sponsorship and television deals." The league "is doing pretty well financially less than two years since its most recent lockout" (SPORTS.YAHOO.com, 8/4).

CHART NOTES: Compensation figures come from NHL tax filing for the 12-month period ending June 30, 2013. * = Named Exec VP/Business Affairs in September '13.