Today the NWHL and NWHLPA announced that they have reached an agreement for the 2019-20 season featuring the first ever revenue sharing agreement, plus higher salaries and better benefits.
Per the release this is a one year deal between the league and the players association, which also features an option to extend the agreement for the 2020-21 season by the NWHL. Also under this deal the players will make substantial gains in both revenue and benefits, which is a first in the NWHL since the inaugural season in 2015.
Highlights of 2019-20 NWHL-NWHLPA Agreement feature:
- Ensures a full 24-game schedule for all five NWHL teams during the 2019-20 season beginning in October 2019 and concluding in April 2020
- For the first time, includes NWHL players in fifty-fifty sponsor revenue sharing after league operating expenses have been met
- Salary increases above the 2018-19 season agreement
- Significant increases to travel, per diem and meal allotments
- League option to extend the agreement to 2020-21 season
Director of the NWHLPA Anya Battaligno issued the following statement in regards of todays release:
“This agreement comes at a critical time for our sport ensuring that the NWHL will have a full 2019-20 season and signifying a breakthrough for our players as we will be included in revenue sharing for the first time this season and every season moving forward. We as players have a proud history and strong connection to the NWHL as the first ever league to pay women hockey players, so it was important for us to honor that relationship by coming to terms that will keep the league going, which this contract achieves. We continue to regard NWHL and its leadership as our strong partners in growing the sport of women’s hockey.
“Our players are united in the belief that women’s hockey needs additional and consistent sponsorship revenue, equitable marketing, a media partnership and better exposure to grow attendance, viewership and sustain a fan base. We remain committed to driving women’s hockey into a profitable place that will eventually deliver livable salaries and benefits for our world class athletes. We choose to play the game toward that goal rather than waiting idly for change.
“We look forward to a successful 2019-20 season.”
We here at TXHT are excited by this announcement and how this agreement between the NWHL and the NWHLPA, and we are excited about the continued growth of Women’s Hockey. We look forward to the upcoming 2019-20 season.
