Yep especially for the insane taxes
Was very well explained in one article in our news site about Slaf deal.
First what is in the contract :
Montreal gave him the maximum possible salary for a rookie: $950,000, ten percent of which is a signing bonus: $95,000.
He signed a three-year contract, this length is given by default for rookies. In addition, he also has bonuses in his contract that allow him to receive an additional $3.5 million, which is again the maximum he can receive. In total, he can earn 4,450,000 in one season. It is the largest contract in NHL history for a rookie since the introduction of the salary cap in the 2005/06 season.
However his only sure income, regardless of where he plays next season, is a signing bonus. He will receive the sum of 95 thousand dollars every year during the duration of the contract, even if he will play in Europe. The remaining 855,000 from the base salary will be in full if he plays the entire season for Montreal in the NHL. If he will be send down to Laval in the AHL, his salary would be $82,500. This amount also increased by $2,500. If he commutes between the NHL and the AHL, his salary will depend on how many days he will be in which competition. Overseas, they can earn a minimum of $177,500 (signing bonus + a full season in the AHL) from the base salary, or the full amount of $950,000.
His contract also includes two types of bonuses. He can get a million for the first, 2.5 million for the second.
With the first bonus, he will receive 250,000 for each of these fulfilled conditions. However, he can receive a maximum of one million in total. For example, if he fulfills five conditions, he will get nothing for the fifth. - score 20 goals - get 35 assists - score 60 points - to be in the TOP 6 forwards in the club in average time spent on the ice - have 0.73 points per game - in the rating +/- to be in the TOP 3 attackers of the club - at the end of the season to be in the rookie All-stars team - be nominated for the All-stars match - become the most valuable player of the All-stars match Under conditions where he must be top in something in the club or in points per game, he must play at least 42 games in the NHL.
With the second type of bonus, he only needs to fulfill one condition to receive 2.5 million. - top 10 in the NHL among forwards in one of the categories: goals, assists, points, points per game (minimum 42 duels played) - win one of the trophies: Hart Trophy (Most Valuable Player of the Season), Maurice Richard (Best Scorer), Conn Smythe (Most Valuable Player in the Playoffs), Frank J. Selke (Best Defensive Forward) - nomination to the first or second All-stars team of the season.
and now the reailty after Taxes:
The mentioned numbers are significantly different from what Juraj Slafkovský actually gets on his account. The reason is simple - taxes.
And that's not to mention other fees (agents, players' association, etc...). Looking at taxes, there is no worse city for a player in the entire NHL than Montreal, they are the highest here. If he played a full season in the NHL, reached all the bonuses and received the maximum possible amount of $4,450,000, he would pay up to 52.74 percent in taxes ($2,346,930).
For comparison, if he had signed the same contract with the Seattle Kraken, he would have paid $736,000 less in taxes (36.20%). The percentage of taxes depends on the amount of earnings. The limit in Montreal when he would pay less than 50 percent in taxes is roughly 765,000.