The economy of the Maple Leafs
A few figures behind the NHL’s most expensive team
Just because the Maple Leafs haven’t won a Stanley Cup in—so sorry to remind you—57 long years doesn’t mean the Toronto team doesn’t dominate the NHL in other ways. Last year, Forbes pegged the Leafs’ valuation at US$2.8 billion — up an astonishing 40%. It’s now the league’s highest, having knocked the New York Rangers out of an eight-year winning streak. As eternally optimistic Leafs fans get ready to fork over their time and money for another hockey season — maybe this year’s the year, you never know—here’s a look at the team’s real power play: big bucks behind the scenes.
6,000%: MARKUP COST ON A STAR PLAYER
Irish-Algonquin Hall of Fame inductee George “Chief” Armstrong, who played 21 professional seasons with the Leafs, including 12 as captain, earned a peak salary in his final season of US$29,870— US$231,516 in today’s dollars. The current annual paycheque of the most expensive Leaf? That’d be centre Auston Matthews, the new captain, who’ll earn US$13.3 million annually for the next four years. Much like any other corporation, Matthews’s base salary is a reasonable $775,000; the rest is a generous “signing bonus.”
US$281 million: CURRENT ANNUAL REVENUE
And that’s despite the team’s elimination in the first playoff round (again). Where does it all go, you ask? Forbes reports that the team costs US$127 million to operate, including nearly US$80 million for Auston Matthews and the rest of the players’ paycheques. Another 7% goes to lingering debt, and the rest is pure profit. From high-flying box-seaters to viewers at home, that means the Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment earns about US$40 in revenue per Leafs fan.
$13: CHEAPEST BEER YOU CAN BUY WHILE YOU WATCH THE GAME
Forget hard liquor or premium anything, a standard beer — that is, a Coors Light, Miller Lite or Molson Canadian — continues to creep higher and higher. Up 75 cents since last season, a Scotiabank beer has a $10.10 markup from the LCBO, where you can pop the same brewski in your cart for $2.90.
No official stats exist on the percentage of people who try to sneak booze past the gates, but if you’ve paid hundreds of dollars for your ticket, know this: There’s a 100% chance security will kick you to the curb if you’re caught.
20: YEARS YOU’LL SPEND ON THE WAITING LIST FOR LEAFS’ SEASON TICKETS
Join the wait list alongside some 4,000 others right now, as it’ll likely be two decades until your time comes. For this impossible conundrum, thank what once seemed a genius fundraising endeavour: To fund the Leafs’ home at the Air Canada Centre (now Scotiabank Arena), and for the first time in the NHL’s history, the MLSE sold “personal seat licences” (PSLs) for $15,000 a pop. Deep-pocketed corporations scooped up most of the 18,819 available seats, effectively filling the stadium with business networkers rather than legit sports fans, who are left to scramble for the one in 10 tickets left after corporations, season ticket holders and scalpers hog the lion’s share.
$348: MINIMUM TO ATTEND A LEAFS PLAYOFF GAME (if you’re digitally savvy)
Long gone are the good old days that you might trek downtown to buy tickets at the door; these days, you’ll have to brave Ticketmaster and StubHub, where digital scalpers scoop up tickets to resell at much higher prices. The playoff markup is higher again, obviously, like last May’s do-or-die Game 6 against Boston, where a pair of the cheapest seats in the house (section 305, row 12, if you’re curious) on Ticketmaster neared $350. How does this compare to the aforementioned good old days? In 1967, the luckiest of Leafs fans watched their team win the cup for $14 a piece — about $123 dollars today.
