Last Wednesday, the Trump administration announced a sweeping round of tariffs, declaring a “10% baseline tax on imports from all countries and higher tariff rates on dozens of nations that run trade surpluses with the United States.”[1]
The tariffs have “sparked fears of a global trade war” and left many uncertain of what the future impact will be of US economic policy.[2] The National Hockey League is not more immune to tariffs than any other business. Just last week, NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman said that he “has concerns from a business standpoint” regarding Trump’s sweeping tariffs.
Bettman discussed the impact of tariffs on the NHL: “I have concerns from a business standpoint for the league that if the Canadian economy suffers by what’s going on, that will impact the way we have to do business from an economic standpoint.”[3]
“I think as you all know, our teams in Canada pay their players in U.S. dollars and if the Canadian dollar drops, that will be an issue that we’ll have to deal with.”[4]
Last month, the NHL began feeling the impact of strained relations between the U.S. and Canada when the Trump Administration placed a “25% import tariff[]” on Canada.[5] At that time, Bettman stated that “a lot of our Canadian clubs do quite well, but that’s going to be impacted by what happens with the Canadian dollar.” [6] The NHL takes in “roughly a quarter of its overall revenues in Canadian dollars.”[7]
The entire NHL, especially Canadian clubs, are paying close attention to the evolving tariffs and their impact on the relationship between the U.S. and Canada.[8] Canadian teams rely on revenues “gathered from tickets, merchandise, and food and beverage money”, all of which will be impacted by a weakened Canadian dollar.[9]
“The Canadian dollar is currently worth about $.70, just a shade off its lowest point on the last 10 years.”[10] The NHL bases its annual salary cap and payroll minimums as “a function of its annual Hockey-Related Revenue (HRR).”[11]
According to Sportico, “[a] one-cent shift in the exchange rate is worth roughly $20 million in the NHL’s Hockey Related Revenue.”
The NHL will have to continue to watch and wait to see how this most recent round of tariffs impacts their bottom line.
[1] https://www.cleveland.com/nation/2025/04/trump-foreign-nations-looted-pillaged-raped-us-on-trade-wide-reaching-tariffs-enacted.html
[2] https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/donald-trump/trump-tariffs-rollout-beset-confusion-uncertainty-mixed-messages-rcna199553
[3] https://www.cleveland.com/news/2025/04/i-have-concerns-nhl-commish-bettman-addresses-us-canada-tariff-tensions.html
[4] Id.
[5] https://frontofficesports.com/newsletter/nhl-braces-for-tariff-impact/
[6] Id.
[7] Id.
[8] https://www.sportsbusinessjournal.com/Articles/2025/03/24/canadian-nhl-teams-could-face-financial-impacts-due-to-trumps-tariff-policy/
[9] Id.
[10] https://www.sportico.com/leagues/hockey/2025/nhl-us-canada-tariffs-wayne-gretzky-bobby-orr-1234841975/
[11] Id.
Photo Credit: https://www.cnbc.com/2025/03/05/nhl-commissioner-gary-bettman-us-canada-tariffs.html
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