Salary Determination in the National Hockey League: The Effects of Skills, Franchise Characteristics, and Discrimination

Abstract

This paper empirically examines the extent to which skill differences, monopoly and monopsony conditions, and discrimination determine salaries (by player position) in the National Hockey League. The data set is for 1977–78 and covers more than 300 hockey players from all teams in the league. The major conclusions are that skills are the principal determinant of salaries at all positions; the monopoly characteristics of the franchise system appear to have a positive impact on salary for one position (forwards); and only for defensemen is there any evidence of possible salary discrimination against French Canadians.