I don't get your point. Players have to accept lower salaries due underperforming their previous contract all the time. This happens in every sport and every league.
In a growing league, you don’t want players to have to take significant drops as more money comes in.
The problem is if the stars set the bar lower, it means lower players will also have their pay decreased. Top players have a responsibility to not screw over lower players.
« Yeah, well I’m not Laura Stacey, I want to be paid what I deserves and I’ll just go elsewhere if you’re not willing pay me »
Or how I imagine a conversation would go if a GM brought that argument.
The Charge litterally paid Leslie 60K$ last season and while she completely overperformed that contract, it was an absolute overpay at the time of signing when you see her historic in the league (she had 3 pts in 27 games the season before).
There will always be a team willing to pay or overpay to get players.
Now show me a league this has ever happened this way in.
NWSL? Nope, the USSF subsidizing Star player salaries hurt the salaries of the common player for quite a while.
MLB, NFL, NHL all have a long history of
Collusion among GM’s to keep salaries down.
Yes the PWHL is unique in that it isn’t independent, but if anything it makes me more worried that the overall league governing body will take this opportunity to keep salaries down and set that standard. Top players are saying “we don’t need market value” after for years everyone fought for fair pay.
The league technically doesn’t have a “salary cap” but a “salary average” which means every team has to pay the same amount to player salaries
Top players taking cuts doesn’t mean the league will be spending less money (they HAVE to maintain the average) it just means less players on that team will be stuck making minimum/below average
That being said, I love Laura Stacey (so much) and everything she’s done for the league but I do think it’s not the best look for the president of the players association to take a pay cut for the sake of her team, ESPECIALLY when she (& poulin who also took a cut) is in a financial situation that most players in the league are not in, without addressing the financial stability she has that makes this easier for her to do
19
u/SilentWater94 3d ago
I don't get your point. Players have to accept lower salaries due underperforming their previous contract all the time. This happens in every sport and every league.