The poor man doesn’t play hockey
Our country has been in crisis for eight years now. GDP is not growing, real incomes of the population are falling, and pensioners in general are barely making ends meet. But at the same time, some athletes – they roll like cheese in butter. We have already written about football players. Now it’s the players’ turn.
Our country is very poor. According to official data from Rosstat, the average salary in Russia over the past three years was: for 2019— 47,867 rubles, for 2020 – 51,344 rubles, for 2021 – 56,545 rubles.
RUSSIA IS A VERY POOR COUNTRY
In Moscow, of course, the average salary is higher: for 2019 – 94,294 rubles, for 2020 – 100,070 rubles, for 2021 – 111,092 rubles.
These are the official numbers. Average temperature in the hospital. I myself live in Moscow, but among my acquaintances there are not so many people who receive more than 100 thousand. Anyway. In Moscow, after all, there are bankers and State Duma deputies with their considerable earnings.
But in general, the situation is very sad. The same Rosstat in March of this year named the number of Russians living below the poverty line, and it turned out that the number of people with incomes below the poverty line in 2021 amounted to 16 million people, or 11% of the country’s population. The poverty line in our country was considered the amount of 11,908 rubles. But in the 1st quarter of 2022, the poverty line was raised to 12,916 rubles, and the population of Russia with incomes below the poverty line in the 1st quarter of 2022 reached 20.9 million people, or 14.3% of the country’s population.
To understand how the average salary is obtained, it is enough to recall that, in accordance with the Federal Budget for 2022, adopted by the State Duma deputies, the salary of people’s choices increased to 800,000 rubles, which is about 15 times more than the average salary in the country.
But, for example, the average salary of a general practitioner in Russia is 50,400 rubles, and more than half of the vacancies generally have an average salary of 27,100 rubles. It is clear that in Moscow and St. Petersburg, the starting salaries of doctors are now higher – from 75,000 rubles. per month full time. At the same time, in small settlements, the initial amount is only 15,000 rubles.
Yes that there ordinary doctors-therapists. In the coolest Moscow NRC “Kurchatov Institute”, formerly the Institute of Atomic Energy named after I.V. Kurchatov, where Mikhail Kovalchuk has been the director since 2005, the salary of the leading researcher and senior researcher is only 13,000 rubles. (plus an additional payment of 7,000 rubles for a doctoral degree and 3,000 rubles for a Ph.D. degree). Of course, due to economic agreements and contracts, you can bring your earnings to 110-120 thousand rubles. per month, but not everyone has such an opportunity.
THE RICHEST OF THE RICH IN OUR KHL
Everyone is already used to the fact that we receive a lot in our country athletes. But recently I saw the salary rating in our KHL in the 2022-2023 season, and I felt terrible. It turns out that each of the 160 players in our league, which is not the strongest in the world, will receive more than 25 million rubles. in year. An average of more than two million per month! And 45 hockey players will receive more than 50 million rubles. per year each. On average, this is more than four million per month! Over a million a week!
For comparison: a general practitioner with a salary of 50,400 rubles. a year will earn only 604800 rubles. And a million rubles a year – for many, this is generally some sky-high salary, which you can only dream of. And you can not dream, because you still won’t get it. Let’s see who we have on the list of rich hockey players. Maybe you think that these are some great champions like Tretyak, Fetisov, Mikhailov, Petrov or Ragulin? Nothing like this! Of the Russians, the list is headed by Maxim Shalunov from Lokomotiv Yaroslavl. His base salary for the 2022–2023 season is will amount to 90 million rubles. Seven and a half million a month! Almost two million a week!!!
And who is this? A native of Chelyabinsk, 29 years old. Winner of the Gagarin Cup in 2019 with CSKA. As part of the Russian national team, he took part in the 2010 World Junior Championships, but there the Russians managed to take only 4th place. The following year, he, along with the team, somehow “hooked on the bronze”. In 2013, he took 3rd place at the World Youth Championship, but did not score a single goal in six matches played. Of course, he dreamed of playing in the NHL, and in 2013 he took part in the Chicago Blackhawks pre-season training, but did not get a place in the lineup, after which he was sent to the Rockford Icehogs farm club. I played at the adult world championship in 2018, but there Russia “flew out” in the quarterfinals. And last season, he did not even enter the top 100 top scorers in the league.
Such a great super champion! And he will be paid seven and a half million rubles a month in Yaroslavl?! One would like to ask: for what kind of merit? Second after Maxim Shalunov in the ranking is Anton Burdasov from Traktor Chelyabinsk. His base salary for the 2022–2023 season is will amount to 80 million rubles. 6.7 million per month! 1.66 million per week!!!
And who is this? Also a native of Chelyabinsk, 31 years old. Winner of the Gagarin Cup in 2015 as part of the St. Petersburg SKA. I didn’t even try to play in the NHL, but on the other hand I was the world champion in 2011 as part of the Russian youth team.
And all?! Also, frankly, not Kharlamov and not Maltsev.
In the list of 160 richest players in the KHL, to be honest, half of the names have never been heard at all. Well, who, for example, will say who are Alexey Bereglazov, Alexander Yelesin or Igor Ozhiganov? But they will receive 40-50 million.
“COOL” HOCKEY PLAYER FROM…. FRANCE
But the most funny, in my opinion, is the hockey player Stefan Da Costa from Avtomobilist with his 75 million. Maybe it’s some powerful Canadian? Nothing like French! A hockey player from France in Russia is about the same as a football player from Bangladesh. Or a Russian in the Brazilian football championship.
What is France? Great hockey power! The French were even European champions. True, this happened back in 1924, but now the French are firmly in 12-15th place in the world. Today they are 13th in the world ranking (this is approximately the level of Belarus, Austria and Kazakhstan).
And who is Stefan Da Costa? Parisian, 32 years old. I played a little in France, a little in Ottawa. Then he played for CSKA. He even somehow scored three goals in a match with Severstal. Winner of the Gagarin Cup and the Russian Championship. At the 2014 World Championships, he scored two goals against the Canadians and helped the French win a sensational shootout. Nobody argues, a good hockey player. But not Connor McDavid or Steven Stamkos. And not even such owners of “French” surnames as Gaudreau, Hubredo and Duchen.
WHERE DO THESE PAYMENTS COME FROM
No, of course, I understand that hockey is one of the modern professional sports. Consequently, the salary of hockey players is an integral part of the work activity, and professional puck players are, in fact, employees.
I also understand that the age of an athlete is short. And that you can get injured, and then treat it for the rest of your life. But in the most prestigious NHL, where the best players in the world play, the same thing. And there the best of the best get a lot of money. But there hockey is a powerful business, and there no one will pay some kind of Anton Burdasov that kind of money. And there taxes are not 13%, as we have.
So why do we in Yaroslavl, Chelyabinsk and Yekaterinburg pay such salaries to hockey players?
Hockey in Russia is slowly but surely dying. Few spectators go to the matches. The results in the international arena are not particularly encouraging, and now, due to sanctions, there are none at all and will not be in the near future. Teams survive at the expense of the state budget. There is no money in the state budget for pensioners, for medicine, for science, for normal roads… But, some Stefan Da Costa still receives 75 million in Yekaterinburg. Maybe there is oil in this city, and sheikhs run hockey, like in PSG football? No, in terms of living standards, the Sverdlovsk Region ranks 13th in Russia. And Yekaterinburg itself is in 17th place in terms of the quality of life in Russia. But in the local Avtomobilist there are 19 people from the top 160 highest paid players in the KHL.
And Yaroslavl is generally in 26th place. But in the local Lokomotiv there are 15 people from the top 160 highest paid players in the KHL.
And what is this “ceiling” of salaries of 900 million rubles, in which teams that do not reach the playoffs at all or “fly out” in the quarterfinals are barely eligible?
WHAT IS IT HONEST TO WORK FOR EVERY DOLLAR INVESTED IN YOU
And so far we have been talking about the base salary of KHL hockey players. But after all, everyone knows that the salary is equal to the sum of the base salary of a hockey player and all kinds of bonuses.
And what about the NHL? There are also many of us. And there, the average annual salary, for example, of Alexander Ovechkin from Washington is $5 million: base salary ($1 million) + signing bonus ($4 million).
But this is a super sniper! Legend!! Alexander the Great!!!
Alexander Ovechkin is a three-time world champion. In the fourteen seasons since his NHL debut, he has scored 658 goals. His name is known even to a person far from the world of hockey, and he is one of the most recognizable hockey players in the whole world. Ovi forever inscribed itself in the history of the best league in the world. Ovechkin’s salary has become the most successful investment in the history of Washington: he not only scores a lot, thanks to the greatest sniper of our time, the value of the club has increased by almost 10 times, and he has turned from a nondescript team into a bright and attractive franchise.
In the 2021–2022 season Ovechkin scored 58 points for a notional value of $86,200 per point. This person honestly works out every dollar received. For comparison: Andrey Svechnikov of the Carolinas had a notional value of one point scored of $157,900 (his salary is $6 million). But Vladislav Namestnikov from Dallas, for example, has a salary half that of Ovechkin, but the conditional value of one of his points is $113,600.
Photo: TASS.
Interestingly, does anyone in our clubs consider how much one point scored by a player costs the budget? Taking into account the general poverty of the country and the difference in the level of the NHL and the KHL, such a point should cost ten times less.
Well, one can only admire Ovechkin. He recently overtook the great Jaromir Jagr in the list of leaders in total money earned during his career in the NHL: now the captain of Washington has a pretty figure of $137.2 million on the virtual bank account. In this indicator, Alexander is second only to Sidney Crosby, and the gap between long-term opponents are insignificant – only $ 1 million. At the same time, of the currently playing hockey players, the closest pursuer of the two “giants of the industry” is another legend – Evgeni Malkin. He has earned $118.7 million throughout his career.
WHAT ABOUT OTHER SPORTS?
Now let’s see what happens in other sports?
For example, in the Russian Superleague, volleyball players from Kazan’s Zenit receive from $52,000 to $121,000 per month. At the same time, Zenit is a ten-time champion of Russia, a ten-time winner of the Russian Cup, a six-time winner of the Champions League, and a winner of the 2017 Club World Cup. This is the most titled volleyball club in Russia.
The average salary for the teams of the conditionally “second seven” is from 601 thousand rubles. up to 1 million rubles
It seems that it is believed that chess players make good money. Chess is generally an elite sport. Every strong player there is unique. Talent! Not like Shalunov, Burdasov and Da Costa. So, the world chess champion receives $1-2 million for his victory. The winner of the super tournament in Linares receives about $100 thousand. The winners of other prestigious international competitions receive from $50 thousand. Simpler tournaments bring from $5 thousand to $20 thousand.
Photo: Artyom Korotaev / TASS
Among the world’s elite chess players, only three (!) people receive $1 million a year. Ten people make $200,000 a year, fifty people get $100,000 a year, and those close to the top 100 earn up to $70,000 a year. Just imagine: the three best chess players in the world receive $1 million a year, and in our rather average KHL, as many as 30 people now receive more.
Only Magnus Carlsen is known and respected by everyone. He is the 16th (current) world champion. He is the world champion in classical chess, the world champion in rapid chess, and the world champion in blitz. He became a grandmaster at the age of 13 years 4 months 27 days. There is no other like it.
But who is Korban Knight – the highest paid player in the KHL? Who are Edward Pasquale, Brooks Maysek, Yegor Korshkov and Albert Yarullin, who receive more than the great Norwegian a year?
AND WHAT TO DO?
It was mentioned above that in the 2021-2022 season. Alexander Ovechkin scored 58 points for a notional value of $86,200 per point.
And now let’s take the same Maxim Shalunov. For the 2021–2022 season he scored only 15 points in the goal + pass system (8 + 7) and took 184th place in the list of top scorers in the KHL. So here is his 80 million rubles. at the current exchange rate, they are $1.45 million a year, that is, the conditional value of one point scored is $96,970. More than Alexander the Great!
That is, every point scored by Shalunov costs his employers more than a point scored by Ovechkin. Well, isn’t that absurd?
And here I really want to ask a question: what do the inhabitants of the Yaroslavl region think about this, for example? Or even like this: is it true that Shalunov really gets such huge money in his hands? What kind of ridiculous scheme is this?
It is clear that no one has anything against Maxim Shalunov. He plays the best he can. Probably even trying. There are questions about the system.
Now the leadership of our hockey team is talking a lot about optimizing income and expenses, constantly operating with some numbers, introducing salary caps, etc. Every new head of the KHL wants to look like an effective manager. But in the rating that we reviewed, only the base salary of a player is indicated, which is taken into account under the ceiling of 900 million rubles, that is, this does not include bonuses and bonuses. This is what hockey players will get guaranteed.
But the situation in the country and around it is now extremely difficult. Really, no one from the management sees this?
For example, prices have risen by 30%. All Russians are urged to be patient and tighten their belts. And why not lower the salary cap for hockey players by 30% too? Or 40%? Or 50%?
Most KHL players will have no choice but to agree to the new terms. In fact, it is difficult to go to North America or Europe now (and everyone who has been at least a little listed on the hockey market has long been there).
If the salary ceiling is lowered, it is unlikely that some conditional Lokomotiv will decide to issue a salary of 90 million rubles to its player. in year. In the same NHL, the maximum salary limit is the norm, and in the NHL people play better than in the KHL, honestly working out the money invested in them.
So why don’t we tighten our belts and start with the same hockey players whose base salary is higher than that of deputies and senators, not to mention doctors and PhDs?