Forbes Highest-Paid NHL Players 2025 — Hockey Player Earnings

Auston Matthews clears $20 million once again, but the Maple Leafs star is set to lose his hockey earnings crown soon—which might actually be a good sign for a sport still waiting for a financial breakthrough.

For the second straight year, Toronto Maple Leafs captain Auston Matthews is the NHL’s highest-paid player, due to rake in an estimated $20.2 million this season from his playing contract as well as his endorsements and other business endeavors. Coming off a $21.7 million haul in 2024-25, the 28-year-old center now has the only two $20 million seasons (unadjusted for inflation) in the 15-year history of Forbes’ NHL earnings list.

That Matthews stayed above the $20 million threshold—and that Colorado Avalanche center Nathan MacKinnon fell just shy, landing at No. 2 among the NHL’s highest-paid players with $19.1 million—is a good sign for a league that is finally starting to see widespread wage growth again, after several years in which the salary cap was stagnant or climbed only incrementally.

And in what could be even better news—for everyone other than Matthews, anyway—his reign atop the earnings ranking is likely to be brief.

For starters, with Matthews’ on-ice pay scheduled to dip to $11.1 million in 2026-27, from $15.2 million this season, he will almost certainly be surpassed by Minnesota Wild left wing Kirill Kaprizov, who last week signed an eight-year, $136 million extension—an NHL record for total contract value. That deal’s average annual value of $17 million was also a league high in the salary-cap era, topping the $14 million mark that Edmonton Oilers forward Leon Draisaitl established last year, and with the front-loaded structure of Kaprizov’s contract, he is set to receive $19.1 million in salary and bonuses next season when the new deal kicks in, according to the Athletic.

Many around the NHL had hoped that Kaprizov himself would be eclipsed by Draisaitl’s Oilers teammate Connor McDavid, a three-time Hart Trophy winner as league MVP who has been the NHL’s highest-paid player four times before, most recently in 2022-23. The 28-year-old center was entering the final season of an eight-year, $100 million contract he signed in 2017, and if he signed a new deal approaching $20 million annually as a free agent next summer, it could have reset the market for future negotiations around the league.

Instead, McDavid signed a modest two-year, $25 million extension with Edmonton on Monday, matching the average annual value of his expiring deal.

McDavid has consistently said his top priority is winning, and the new contract will give the aging Oilers more financial flexibility to build their roster around him. But the result is still a bit disappointing for those who hoped a generational talent could lift the lid on superstar salaries under a salary cap system that was established after the 2004-05 lockout.

In some ways, the NHL’s cap model is even more restrictive than the curbs in other leagues. For instance, no player can represent more than 20% of his team’s overall cap, whereas the NBA maximum is 35% and MLB and the NFL have no limits on individual salaries. And in practice, that ceiling for NHL players is moot: Draisaitl’s league-high $14 million cap hit this season is less than 15% of the $95.5 million salary cap.

At the same time, the NHL has experienced slower revenue growth than the other major North American sports leagues, the result of which is a salary cap that has grown 34% over the past decade, compared with a 121% increase in the NBA over the same span. So while Draisaitl’s $16.5 million in on-ice pay this season is an 18% improvement on the league leader ten years ago, the NBA leader is up 138%, and there are 107 basketball players who will outearn Draisaitl with their salaries and bonuses this season, according to contract database Spotrac—along with 144 players from the NFL and 85 from MLB.

But the league-wide outlook is improving. With revenues climbing—and team values soaring—the NHL’s salary cap is up $7.5 million, or 9%, over last season, the largest single-year jump (in terms of absolute dollars) in the league’s history. The cap is then projected to jump another $8.5 million for 2026-27 and $9.5 million for 2027-28, and in that final year, team payrolls will be required to exceed $83.9 million—higher than the maximum from 2023-24. Some player agents, meanwhile, believe the cap could rise even faster than those forecasts.

In this new cap environment, the NHL’s ten highest-paid players are set to bring in an estimated $167 million combined this season, counting both their on- and off-ice income—8% more than last year’s record $156 million. (Forbes projected a total of $159 million for the 2019-20 season, but the Covid-19 pandemic ended up eating into players’ paychecks.)

This year’s list also breaks a record with the top ten’s $27 million sum off the ice. That figure may pale in comparison with the estimated $293 million the NBA’s ten highest-paid players racked up off the court last season, but it’s another sign that the NHL is trending in the right direction, led by McDavid ($6.5 million off the ice), Pittsburgh Penguins center Sidney Crosby ($5.5 million) and Matthews ($5 million), along with Washington Capitals left wing Alex Ovechkin, who just missed the overall earnings top ten but continues to bank an estimated $5 million annually from his business endeavors.

So while McDavid, hockey’s top playmaker, may not have dished out the contract assist some were hoping for, NHL stars can keep looking ahead to their next big score.

THE HIGHEST-PAID NHL PLAYERS 2025

#1. $20.2 million

Age: 28 | Position: Center | Team: Toronto Maple Leafs | On-Ice: $15.2 million • Off-Ice: $5 million

Matthews revealed in May that he had sustained an injury in training camp and played through the pain across a season in which he was limited to 67 games and 33 goals—the lowest scoring total of his nine-year career. But the 28-year-old Toronto Maple Leafs center did not require surgery, and a return to the form he showed in 2023-24—when he piled up 69 goals, the most ever by a U.S.-born player—would be a huge help to a team trying to replace Mitch Marner on his right wing. Matthews, playing on a four-year, $53 million contract that runs through 2027-28, supplements his salary with one of hockey’s most lucrative endorsement portfolios, featuring brands including Nike, Prime sports drinks and Uber Eats. He also appeared alongside Connor McDavid this year in a “Showdown” campaign from McDonald’s that paid homage to a famous 1993 commercial starring Michael Jordan and Larry Bird.

#2. $19.1 million

Age: 30 | Position: Center | Team: Colorado Avalanche | On-Ice: $16.1 million • Off-Ice: $3 million

The eight-year, $100.8 million extension that MacKinnon signed with the Colorado Avalanche in 2022 set a record for average annual contract value in the NHL’s salary cap era, at $12.6 million, but with six seasons remaining on the deal, it is looking like a bargain for a player who recorded his 1,000th career point in March. Off the ice, the 30-year-old Canadian works with partners including Tim Hortons, Tylenol and Cizzle Brands, the parent company behind Cwench sports drinks and HappiEats pasta.

#3. $19 million

Age: 29 | Position: Forward | Team: Edmonton Oilers | On-Ice: $16.5 million • Off-Ice: $2.5 million

Draisaitl, who turns 30 this month, has often served as the second-line center in Edmonton, but with Zach Hyman recovering from a wrist injury, the German superstar is expected to line up as a winger alongside Connor McDavid. Draisaitl, who signed an eight-year, $112 million extension last year, is coming off a season in which he led the NHL with 52 goals, but he recently told TSN that he had a new goal: to be a contender for the Selke Trophy, which honors a forward who excels on defense. Draisaitl is also an able pitchman, endorsing brands such as Puma, Plyrs sports drinks and Skip, a Canadian food delivery service.

#4. $17 million

Age: 28 | Position: Right Wing | Team: Vegas Golden Knights | On-Ice: $15 million • Off-Ice: $2 million

Despite averaging more than a point a game in each of the last seven seasons, Marner faced an avalanche of criticism from Toronto Maple Leafs fans and was sent to the Vegas Golden Knights in July in a sign-and-trade deal. “Can’t complain—I’m liking life,” the 28-year-old Canadian, playing on a new eight-year, $96 million contract, told ESPN last month. Things are going well for Marner off the ice, too, with an endorsement stable that includes Red Bull, Nulo pet food and PSD underwear.

#5. $16.5 million

Age: 28 | Position: Center | Team: Edmonton Oilers | On-Ice: $10 million • Off-Ice: $6.5 million

Coming off two straight appearances in the Stanley Cup finals with the Edmonton Oilers, McDavid made the decision to sign a team-friendly extension on Monday morning, according to ESPN, and he seemed to confirm a deal had been struck hours later when he wrote on Instagram, “Our journey here continues.” The 28-year-old center, widely considered the greatest player of his generation, is also the best the NHL has to offer off the ice, where his league-leading endorsement portfolio includes Alo Yoga apparel, Bodyarmor sports drinks and Canadian telecommunications giant Rogers. That group is set to get another boost from the Winter Olympics in February, with McDavid expected to play a major role for Team Canada as NHL players return to the Games for the first time since 2014—the year before McDavid was drafted.

#6. $15.9 million

Age: 29 | Position: Goaltender | Team: New York Rangers | On-Ice: $15.8 million • Off-Ice: $0.1 million