Gary Bettman facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Gary Bettman
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Bettman in November 2016
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| 1st Commissioner of the National Hockey League | |
| Assumed office February 1, 1993 |
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| Preceded by | Gil Stein (as President) |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
Gary Bruce Bettman
June 2, 1952 Queens, New York, U.S. |
| Spouse |
Shelli Bettman
(m. 1976) |
| Children | 3 |
| Relatives | Jeffrey Pollack (half-brother) |
| Alma mater | |
| Awards | Hockey Hall of Fame (2018) |
Gary Bruce Bettman (born June 2, 1952) is an American sports leader. He is the Commissioner of the National Hockey League (NHL). He has held this important job since February 1, 1993. Before joining the NHL, Bettman worked for the National Basketball Association (NBA). He was a senior vice president and general counsel there.
Gary Bettman went to Cornell University and New York University School of Law. In 2018, he was chosen to be part of the Hockey Hall of Fame. During his time as Commissioner, the NHL has grown a lot in the United States. Eight new teams have joined the league. This means the NHL now has 32 teams as of the 2021–22 season.
In May 2014, Bettman was named "sports executive of the year." This award came from SportsBusiness Journal and SportsBusiness Daily. In 2016, he was also inducted into the International Jewish Sports Hall of Fame.
Bettman's time leading the NHL has had some challenges. Some people have criticized him for trying to make hockey popular everywhere. They also didn't like him expanding the league into warmer places like the Sun Belt. These areas are not traditional hockey markets. This sometimes happened instead of focusing on traditional hockey areas like Canada. Bettman has also been involved in three times when players stopped playing due to disagreements. One of these was the 2004–05 NHL lockout, which caused an entire season to be canceled. These events have made him less popular with some fans.
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About Gary Bettman's Early Life and Family
Gary Bettman was born in Queens, New York. His family is Jewish. He studied about workers and businesses at Cornell University in Ithaca, New York. He graduated from Cornell in 1974.
After that, he earned a law degree from New York University School of Law in 1977. Then, he joined a law firm in New York City. Gary Bettman lives with his wife, Shelli. They have three children named Lauren, Jordan, and Brittany. His half-brother, Jeffrey Pollack, is also a sports leader.
Gary Bettman's Time in the NBA
In 1981, Bettman started working for the National Basketball Association (NBA). He mostly worked in the marketing and legal parts of the league. He became the third-highest person in charge at the NBA. He spent many years as the league's main lawyer and senior vice president.
Bettman played a big role in creating the "soft salary cap" system. This system was put in place by the NBA in 1983. The league still uses this system today.
Becoming NHL Commissioner
On December 12, 1992, Gary Bettman was chosen to be the very first Commissioner of the National Hockey League (NHL). He officially started his job on February 1, 1993. Before him, the NHL had a president, Gil Stein. Bettman worked alongside Stein until July 1, 1993.
The team owners hired Bettman for several reasons. They wanted him to help make hockey more popular in the U.S. market. They also wanted him to solve problems with players stopping work. Another goal was to finish plans for new teams. Finally, they wanted him to bring new ideas to the "old guard" among the team owners.
Growing the NHL: New Teams and Moves
When Bettman became Commissioner, the NHL already had 24 teams. Three new teams had joined since the 1991–92 season. Two more teams were planned: the Florida Panthers and Mighty Ducks of Anaheim. These teams started playing in the 1993–94 season.
Under Bettman's leadership, the league focused on adding teams in the American South. This was to make the league bigger across the country. The Nashville Predators (1998), Atlanta Thrashers (1999), Minnesota Wild (2000), and Columbus Blue Jackets (2000) joined. This brought the NHL to 30 teams.
Also, four teams moved to new cities during the 1990s:
- The Minnesota North Stars moved to Dallas (1993).
- The Quebec Nordiques moved to Denver (1995).
- The original Winnipeg Jets moved to Phoenix (1996).
- The Hartford Whalers moved to North Carolina (1997).
This focus on southern markets received a lot of criticism. Fans in Canada and the Northern U.S. felt that hockey was moving away from its traditional homes. Some critics even said Bettman was "anti-Canadian." They pointed to the teams moving from Quebec City and Winnipeg. They also mentioned a failed sale of the Nashville Predators that would have moved them to Hamilton, Ontario.
However, Bettman also supported a plan to help Canadian teams. This plan shared money from American teams with smaller-market Canadian teams. These included Calgary, Edmonton, Ottawa, and Vancouver. This help lasted through the late 1990s and early 2000s.
The results of expanding to southern markets have been mixed. More children in the U.S. South are now playing hockey. However, some of these southern teams have struggled financially. The Phoenix Coyotes, for example, had money problems. The league had to take control of the team to help it. Even then, the team eventually moved to Salt Lake City in 2024.
The Atlanta Thrashers also had financial issues and only made the playoffs once. In 2011, they were sold and moved to Winnipeg. This was a big change from the league's earlier efforts to expand south.
The league also changed its division setup. It went from four divisions to six. This caused some issues, as teams in the Eastern Time Zone had to play in the Western Conference. This meant late game times for their local TV viewers. After many talks, the NHL went back to a four-division setup for the 2013–14 season.
In 2017, the league added its 31st team, the Vegas Golden Knights, in Las Vegas, Nevada. Bettman explained that adding more teams in the Eastern Time Zone was not possible then.
The most recent expansion happened on December 4, 2018. Seattle became the league's 32nd team, the Seattle Kraken. They started playing in the 2021–22 NHL season. Bettman chose Seattle because it is a fast-growing city.
Labor Problems: Player Lockouts
Even though Bettman was hired to fix labor problems, the NHL has had three times when owners stopped players from playing. These are called lockouts.
The 1994–95 Lockout
The 1994–95 lockout lasted for 104 days. This meant the season was cut short from 84 games to 48 games. A main reason for the lockout was to help teams in smaller markets. Bettman and the owners wanted a "salary cap." This would limit how much money teams could spend on player salaries. They also wanted changes to how players could become free agents.
The players' union wanted a "luxury tax" system instead. The talks were difficult. In the end, a deal was made in January 1995. The owners did not get a full salary cap. But the union agreed to a cap on new player contracts. They also agreed to changes for free agency. This deal was seen as a win for the owners at first.
The 2004–05 Lockout
By 2004, owners said that player salaries were growing too fast. They claimed the league lost over $300 million in the 2002–03 season.
Because of this, Bettman announced on September 15, 2004, that the owners would again lock out the players. This happened before the 2004–05 season was supposed to start. Five months later, Bettman announced that the entire season was canceled. The NHL became the first major North American sports league to cancel a whole season because of a labor dispute.
Like in 1994, the owners wanted a salary cap. The players first wanted a luxury tax. They also offered to cut player salaries by 5%, and later by 24%. As the season cancellation became likely, the players agreed to a salary cap. But the two sides could not agree on the exact numbers before the deadline.
After the season was canceled, talks moved faster. A new agreement was reached in July 2005. This deal included a strict salary cap. It was tied to a set percentage of the league's money. Player salaries were cut by 24%. Players could become free agents after seven years of playing. Bettman was praised for bringing "cost certainty" to the NHL.
The 2012–13 Lockout
The 2012–13 NHL lockout lasted from September 15, 2012, to January 19, 2013. Owners and players could not agree on a new contract. The owners wanted to reduce the players' share of hockey money. They also wanted to limit contract lengths and change free agency rules.
After many talks, a deal was reached on January 6, 2013. The new agreement set limits on contract lengths. It also set a minimum and maximum amount for team salaries. After the players' union approved the deal, the lockout ended.
A shorter 48-game season was played. It started on January 19, 2013. Even with the lockout, the average number of fans at games went up. TV ratings in Canada and the U.S. also increased.
NHL on Television
Bettman quickly achieved a goal by signing a big TV deal. It was a five-year, $155 million deal with Fox Broadcasting Company. This allowed Fox to broadcast NHL games nationally in the U.S. starting in the 1994–95 season. This deal was important because getting a national TV contract in the U.S. had been very hard before.
The Fox deal is often remembered for the FoxTrax puck. This was a special puck that showed up on TV with a glowing trail. It helped viewers follow the puck. While some fans liked it, many traditional fans did not.
Despite falling ratings, Bettman made another large TV deal in 1998. It was a five-year, $600 million deal with ABC and ESPN. This was the biggest TV contract the NHL had ever signed.
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After the ABC/ESPN deal, the NHL's TV deals became less valuable. In 2004, the league only had a revenue-sharing deal with NBC. This meant NBC didn't pay money upfront. Also, after the lockout, ESPN decided not to renew its contract.
However, Bettman was able to make a deal with Comcast. This allowed NHL games to be shown on the Outdoor Life Network. This channel was later renamed Versus. This three-year deal was worth $207.5 million. Bettman was criticized for moving to Versus. Many people felt the league lost visibility because Versus was a much smaller network.
In January 2011, Comcast bought NBC Universal. In April of that year, Bettman made a new 10-year deal with the combined company. This deal was worth almost $2 billion. Comcast/NBC also said they would show more games on Versus and NBC. Some people thought this deal was good because Comcast/NBC would focus more on hockey. Others felt the NHL still needed the wider reach that ESPN could provide. Versus was renamed the NBC Sports Network on January 2, 2012.
On November 26, 2013, Bettman announced a huge deal for Canadian TV rights. The NHL sold 12 seasons of exclusive national broadcast rights to Rogers Media. This deal was worth CAD$5.2 billion. Rogers would show games on its many channels. The popular Hockey Night in Canada would continue on the CBC for four more seasons. However, CBC would air it under a deal with Rogers.
NHL on XM Satellite Radio
Gary Bettman hosts a weekly radio show on NHL Home Ice (XM 204). On this show, fans can talk directly with the Commissioner. They can ask questions or share their thoughts about ice hockey.
NHL and the Olympic Games
The NHL first sent its players to the ice hockey at the Olympic Games in the 1998 tournament in Nagano. The Olympic hockey tournament became very popular and profitable.
In 2010, Bettman said that being in the Olympics was "mixed" for the NHL. He listed several issues he wanted to fix. These included more control over marketing, game times for North American TV, and breaks in the NHL season. He also worried about player travel and injuries.
In April 2017, Bettman announced that the NHL would not send players to the 2018 Winter Olympics. This decision was confirmed later that year. Many players were not happy about this choice.
Public Opinion of Gary Bettman
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Gary Bettman's decisions and the three times players stopped playing have made him unpopular with many NHL fans. He often gets booed in hockey arenas. This happens at events like the yearly NHL Entry Draft and when he gives the Stanley Cup to the winning team.
When asked if the booing bothers him, Bettman said it does not. He believes that if fans are silent, then he would know he is in trouble. He also said that fans have opinions, and they care about the game. Some writers have suggested that someone else should hand out the Stanley Cup. This is to avoid the booing spoiling the ceremony. In 2013, a sports blog called Grantland said Bettman's Cup presentations were "awkward."
In a 2006 Canadian movie called Bon Cop, Bad Cop, there was a character named "Harry Buttman." This character was a parody of Gary Bettman. He was a hockey league commissioner who wanted to move Montreal's hockey team to Houston.
Awards and Recognition
On May 21, 2014, Gary Bettman was named "Sports Executive of the Year." This award was given by the SportsBusiness Journal and SportsBusiness Daily. At the same event, the NHL was named "Sports League of the Year." The 2014 Bridgestone NHL Winter Classic was also named "Sports Event of the Year." Bettman joked that it was unusual to get applause instead of boos.
Chris Peters, a hockey writer for CBS Sports, said the game has grown in the United States. More people are playing hockey, and the NHL's money is increasing. He also noted that the league's TV deal with NBC Sports is a big success. Peters said that even with two lockouts, the NHL is still very strong. He believes Bettman deserves recognition for his leadership.
In 2016, Bettman was inducted into the International Jewish Sports Hall of Fame. After other sports commissioners retired, Bettman became the longest-serving active commissioner in professional sports. In November 2018, he was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame. In January 2023, Bettman received the Lifetime Achievement award from SportsBusiness Journal.
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