NHL Salary Disbursement Authority Issues Clarifying Memo Confirming That $163.2 Million Is, In Fact, More Money Than Previous Amounts, Asks Stakeholders To Sit With That

DENVER — Following an internal review spanning approximately one business day, the NHL Office of Player Compensation Verification and Historical Contextualization released a clarifying memorandum Friday afternoon confirming that defenseman Cale Makar of the Colorado Avalanche has signed a contract totaling $163.2 million over eight years, which the memo describes as 'the largest such figure when the figures are ranked by size and this one is placed at the top.'

The memo, addressed to 'All Relevant Stakeholders, Hockey-Adjacent Personnel, and Anyone Who Has Asked,' runs to seven pages plus two appendices, the second of which consists entirely of a table showing previous NHL record contracts alongside the new figure, with the new figure circled in red and labeled 'this one is bigger.'

'It is the determination of this office,' the memo reads in paragraph four, 'that $163.2 million, when compared to amounts that are less than $163.2 million, is found to exceed those amounts by a margin consistent with it being more.'

League officials emphasized that the findings should not be interpreted as a value judgment. 'We are not here to say whether $163.2 million is a good number or a bad number,' said a spokesperson reading from prepared remarks. 'We are here to say it is the biggest number in this specific category, which is the category of this.'

The memo further clarifies that the contract spans eight years, which the Office of Temporal Contract Duration confirms is 'more years than seven, and fewer years than nine, placing it squarely within the range of durations that include eight.'

A supplemental annex addresses the player himself. 'Cale Makar,' the document notes on page five, 'is the individual to whom the money will be directed, per standard compensation routing protocols, assuming correct routing information is on file.' Officials confirmed routing information is on file.

The Colorado Avalanche front office released a brief statement acknowledging receipt of the memo and confirming they had 'reviewed the figures, found them to be the figures, and have no outstanding objections to the figures being the figures at this time.'

Makar himself did not respond to the memo, which officials described as 'within his rights as a private citizen who did not request the memo and was not copied on the original distribution list.'

The Office of Player Compensation Verification and Historical Contextualization noted that a follow-up memo is expected within 90 days to confirm that the first memo was sent, and that its contents remain, as of that future date, the contents it contained when originally distributed.

'We anticipate,' the memo concludes, 'that the money will continue to be the most money until it is not, at which point this office will issue further guidance.'

No further guidance has been issued at time of publication.