To all but New York Rangers fans, NHL mascots can be as much of a part of the game night experience as anything else off the ice. They engage fans, entertain, and taunt opponents.
Some are even nationally revered or have been catapulted to a kind of celebrity status following their breakout antics and frankly unsettling aesthetics, which further promotes the NHL brand and that of their aligned teams.
So, with the NHL reeling in some US$5 billion per season, teams making over US$180 million in revenue each year, and the salary cap set between US$61.7 million and $83.5 million, how much money do NHL mascots make?
How Much Does the Average NHL Mascot Make?
The average NHL mascot reportedly earned between US$65,000 and US$70,000 or C$86,000 to C$93,000 annually. However, according to Indeed listings in Canada, the average base salary for mascots overall is C$35,579.
This does, of course, represent the step up to the big leagues and an organization that makes millions in profits each year seeking to continually improve the product put out on the ice and at the stadium. Still, the earnings of the mascots won’t necessarily reflect the money earned by the ownership or even the success on the ice.
For example, the Edmonton Oilers have one of the richest owners in Canadian sports, Daryl Katz, and are the favourites in the NHL betting to win the Stanley Cup at +800.
Still, the 2016-introduced Hunter the Lynx likely isn’t earning much more beyond the average NHL mascot salary.
This average salary for NHL mascots would appear to conform to major league norms. Most other mascots in the NFL, MLB, and NBA make the same average salary, but of course, some need to attend more games than others.
On top of salaries, mascots can make a good chunk of change by attending events beyond game nights, which is where many get to set their own rates to take home more money.
Which NHL Mascot Earns the Most Money?
Answering this, and the question above, is always going to be tricky as exact numbers are tough to come by, but we can safely assume that the Philadelphia Flyers’ Gritty is the NHL mascot that makes the most money.
All of them earn good annual salaries or per game and hourly rates that make them good earners, but it’s the work beyond the rink that can catapult NHL mascot earnings.
The rates that mascots charge per appearance are more easily found than their salaries, and by the looks of it, a select few are raking in a lot of money from their side hustles.
Iceburgh (Pittsburgh Penguins), Fin (Vancouver Canucks), and ThunderBug (Tampa Bay Lightning) charge from US$250 to US$467 per hour for appearances, while S.J. Sharkie charges $600 per hour.
It steps up from there to $1,000 for Youppi! (Montréal Canadiens) showing up, $1,200 for an hour with NJ Devil (New Jersey Devils), or a massive $3,000 to be subjected to an hour of chaos with Gritty.
Since Gritty stormed onto Broad Street at the start of the 2018/19 season, the Flyers have only made the postseason in one of five seasons.
Even if they have a particularly favourable matchup in the live betting online, their futures odds of +12500 showcases how far off the competition the roster currently is in Philly.
This, arguably, puts an even greater reliance on Gritty to bring the X factor to the Wells Fargo Center 41 times a year, and the NHL mascot has certainly been earning its money to do exactly that.
NHL Mascots On Social Media
A big part of Gritty’s earning power is the orange fuzzball’s social media following, but on these platforms alone, the NHL mascot’s rapid ascent to over 200,000 followers on Twitter and 120,000 on Instagram meant that sponsored posts could fetch at least US$500 apiece.
With only the Sharks’ mascot boasting more Facebook followers – a platform that Gritty is seemingly too cool for – Gritty dominates the followings by hundreds of thousands on Twitter, Instagram, and even broke one million followers on TikTok.
So, Gritty does a huge job of promoting the Flyers, and as an NHL mascot, can keep even non-hockey outlets writing about the league if for nothing other than its crazy antics.
With 41 home games in the books, Gritty could make 159 two-hour appearances on the side – leaving 165 days to regenerate its chaotic energy – to have its appearances income alone (US$954,000) to make more than the US$950,000 annual cap for an entry-level contract in the NHL.
The amount of money that NHL mascots earn ranges from mascot to mascot, but on average, they can expect to get around C$90,000 as an annual salary. If they prove to be a hit and take on plenty of work on the side, NHL mascots can earn much more.
*Credit for all images in this article belongs to AP Photo*
