NHL to Investigate Flyers, Pronger Contract
Deal has Pronger making over $7 million in the first four years
By ASHA BEH
Updated 7:16 PM EDT, Sun, Aug 2, 2009
Chris Pronger's front-loaded, long-term contract with the Philadelphia Flyers is under investigation by the National Hockey League, ESPN reported.
The NHL will hire an outside firm to determine whether the Flyers talked about a timeline for Pronger's potential retirement before the seven-year, $34.45 million contract was signed.
The NHL apparently is concerned that the front-loaded contract for an older player like Pronger violates the spirit of the salary cap, according to Philly.com. Since teams know that players might retire instead of playing for a lower salary in later years, an extended deal allegedly lowers the average salary cap hit.
If Pronger -- who will turn 35 before the seven-year extension kicks in next summer -- retires, the Flyers would take an average cap hit of $5 million annually for the life of the contract, according to ESPN.
With his new contract, Pronger will be making $7.6, $7.6, $7.2 and $7 million in the first four years, $4 million in the fifth year and then $525,000 in each of the last two years -- or, a tad under $5 million annually.
Meanwhile, Pronger isn't the only player whose contract is under investigation. Marian Hossa's 12-year, $62.8 million contract with the Chicago Blackhawks is also being looked into.
The Blackhawks released a statement on Friday denying any violation of the CBA, ESPN reports.
First Published: Aug 1, 2009 10:54 AM EDT on NBC Philadelphia
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