History Ends?

NWHL Commissioner Dani Rylan (Excelle Sports)

Well, I feel like an idiot.

My last article focused on the CWHL’s lack of paying players and sang the praises of the NWHL in its decision to immediately pay players since day one of the inaugural season.

That sparkling promise is no longer holding its own weight.

On November 18, commissioner of the NWHL Dani Rylan reportedly informed players that their salaries would be sliced in half in order to “sustain the longevity of the league.” That news, broken by David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period, also came with the promise that players would fulfill every player’s original contract in the second half the season if “financial improvements are seen.”

The next day, Rylan held a press conference in which she revealed that many player’s salaries would be cut entirely, effective as soon as players agreed to the new addendum to their contract. Making as little as $10,000 per season, many NWHL players took on secondary jobs in order to financially support themselves while being paid. The pay cuts now jeopardize the players’ livelihoods even further.

In response to this, NWHL players issued a list of demands for the league, shared on Twitter by many players, including league superstar Hillary Knight. The demands include a third-party audit of the league’s finances, illustrating a potential distrust in commissioner Rylan’s statement that the league will pay players once finances balance out.

Other player responses range from heartbreak to anger, as an interview with Madison Packer of the Riveters reveals. Packer all but ripped into the league with her bare hands, giving specific details about her teammates’ reactions, how the news was delivered, and the new league salary caps.

“We have a $270,000 salary cap per team,” she said. “Of the $270,000 I contracted for $15,000, which is about 5 and a half percent of that $270,000. So now we’re getting a total of $5,000 per game, per team. I’ll make 5.5% of that $5,000.”

That’s $275 per game, or $4,950 per season. Just shy of a third of her initial salary.

So, where does the league go from here?

Packer—and, assumedly, many other NWHL players—has the slightest bit of hope for the future.

“If players take these pay cuts and somehow figure out a way to survive through the end of the season, then what? Is there money for a season next year? Is there a future for the league? We’re all standing up for something, we’re standing behind this league and we want to see it do well. We don’t want to stand up, pushing something forward that doesn’t have a chance. I want to be sure that I have faith in what I’m fighting for, that what I’m fighting for has a chance.”

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