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Rozner: Difference in NBA, NHL contracts staggering

Brian Campbell handed the Blackhawks a gift on Friday, right around the time Joakim Noah was getting a much bigger one from the New York Knicks.

And the difference is staggering.

Consider that Campbell signed with the Hawks for one year and only $1.5 million, choosing the chance to win and his family's preference for Chicago over more years and piles of cash.

The Hawks are very lucky that Campbell wanted to be here, because they desperately needed a fourth defenseman and even at 37, Campbell is a great fit.

He still skates well and moves the puck as if he were 10 years younger, and there was probably a three-year deal out there for him at about $3 million annually.

The fact that he earned $56 million in his last contract - originally signed with the Hawks in 2008 - allowed Campbell to think with his heart instead of his wallet.

Still, the fact that NHL revenues are so low compared to the NBA, and that the NHL's small-market owners are so adept at punishing the big markets during CBA negotiations, you have a team like the Hawks consistently losing important players and begging veterans like Campbell to fit their salary under the Hawks' cap.

On the other hand - and wow, is it another hand - you have the NBA with exploding revenues, monster TV contracts and a soaring salary cap.

Witness the latest deal for the 31-year-old Noah, who has a body older than Campbell's and may never again be as effective as Campbell will be for the Hawks next season.

Since the lockout of 2012-13, when the NHL salary cap was a prorated $70 million, the cap has gone down significantly and come back to only $73 million for 2016-17.

Yes, in five seasons, the NHL cap has gone up a measly 4 percent, while the Hawks have won two Stanley Cups and have had to pay some very good players huge money, in the process losing about half a hockey team to cap casualties.

The cap is connected to revenues, which have been essentially flat while also tied to the Canadian dollar, which has been in free fall.

One can only imagine the Cups lost this decade while the Hawks have shed salaries and players by the handful every season because of a hard cap.

Meanwhile, NBA revenues are skyrocketing and the cap is moving right along with them.

Since the NBA lockout of 2011-12, the soft cap - which allows teams to go over and pay a luxury tax - has risen from $58 million to $92 million in 2016-17 and at least $110 million in 2017-18, one year from now.

So the cap will have nearly doubled in six years, allowing teams to do pretty much anything they want, assuming players are willing to sign and play for them, which remains a serious issue for the Bulls.

And it's why Noah just signed with the Knicks for $18 million a year over four years, 12 times the amount of money Campbell just received from the Hawks.

Luol Deng is also 31 and may be a better comp physically to Campbell at this point, no longer an elite perimeter defender but still capable of making an impact. He just signed with the Lakers for four years and $72 million.

This is the NBA's new normal, teams scrambling to get to the floor and paying ridiculous amounts to mediocre players.

Imagine, now, if the NHL salary cap had doubled in that amount of time, and the Hawks could spend $140 million this season instead of $73 million.

Fun to dream, isn't it?

Since 2010, the Hawks have lost the services of Campbell, Dustin Byfuglien, Nick Leddy, Johnny Oduya, Brandon Saad, Patrick Sharp, Teuvo Teravainen, Antoine Vermette, Andrew Shaw, Troy Brouwer, Michael Frolik and Andrew Ladd (twice), just to name a few, and all because of the salary cap.

That's a pretty decent team, in and of itself.

But that's life in Gary Bettman's NHL, where the goal is always to help the small markets and poorly managed teams at the expense of those who have drafted well and won at a consistent pace.

So the Hawks continue to suffer while NBA players like Noah cash in at a huge rate, even while physically nearing the end of their careers.

What a difference some TV revenue makes.

brozner@dailyherald.com

• Listen to Barry Rozner from 9 a.m. to noon Sundays on the Score's "Hit and Run" show at WSCR 670-AM.

While the NBA salary cap doubles, the NHL remains flat and it's clobbering teams like the Blackhawks. Brian Campbell signed with the Hawks for one year and only $1.5 million, choosing the chance to win and his family's preference for Chicago over more years and piles of cash. Associated Press
While the NBA salary cap doubles, the NHL remains flat and it's clobbering teams like the Blackhawks. Former Bull Luol Deng signed a four-year, $72 million deal with the Lakers on Saturday. Associated Press
While the NBA salary cap doubles, with former Bull Joakim Noah signing with the New York Knicks for a whopping $18 million, the NHL remains flat and it's clobbering teams like the Blackhawks. Associated Press
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