The Professional Women’s Hockey League (“PWHL”) has quickly changed the landscape of women’s professional hockey. With growing attendance, expansion into new markets, and increasing attention from sponsors and broadcasters, the league has accomplished a great deal in a short period of time. However, establishing the PWHL required years of negotiations, legal work, and difficult decisions about what a sustainable professional women’s hockey league should look like.
I recently had the opportunity to speak with Chris Burkett, who played an important role in establishing the PWHL and now oversees labor relations, player safety, officiating, and security for the league. We discussed his career, the challenges of launching the PWHL, the legal work involved in negotiating its first collective bargaining agreement (“CBA”), and what the future holds for women’s professional hockey.
From Hockey Player to League Executive
Chris’s path to the PWHL was not necessarily a traditional one. Before attending law school, he played university hockey in Canada. He eventually pursued a legal career at Deloitte, but he remained connected to the sport through coaching and watching his daughter play. That involvement ultimately led him to Jayna Hefford, a Hockey Hall of Famer and one of the central figures behind the movement to establish a sustainable professional women’s hockey league.
In 2020, while working at Deloitte, Chris began representing players involved with the Professional Women’s Hockey Players Association (PWHPA). What began as legal representation eventually developed into a much larger role in helping to establish an entirely new professional sports league.
Building the PWHL and Negotiating Its First CBA
One of the biggest obstacles in establishing the PWHL was the divide between the PWHPA and the Premier Hockey Federation (PHF), which was already operating as a professional women’s hockey league. While the PHF offered an existing opportunity to compete professionally, PWHPA players wanted a different model. Rather than gradually improving the existing structure, they sought substantial financial investment and the resources necessary to operate at the highest professional level. Chris explained that this created challenges when approaching potential investors, some of whom questioned why the players could not simply join the existing league.
A major turning point came when Billie Jean King helped connect the group with Mark Walter, who ultimately provided the financial backing necessary to establish the PWHL. Even after securing investment, the league faced an extremely short timeline to negotiate its labor agreement, establish operations, hire personnel, and prepare for its inaugural season.
One of the most interesting legal aspects of the PWHL’s creation was that the league negotiated a CBA before it had even begun operating. According to Chris, Walter wanted the expectations of both sides clearly established from the beginning, including the league’s obligations to its players and the protections those players would receive. The negotiations lasted approximately six months, with Chris working alongside Susan Davis, an attorney experienced in U.S. labor law.
Although compensation was important, Chris emphasized that the players’ primary concern was professionalism. The resulting agreement addressed housing support, travel and hotel standards, meals, professional training facilities, coaching staff, medical personnel, strength and conditioning resources, and mental performance support. These protections were particularly significant given the history of women’s professional hockey, where players had often competed at an elite level without access to the resources traditionally associated with professional sports.
Chris explained that Walter ultimately provided the level of professionalism the players had sought, with some aspects even exceeding their expectations. The CBA established a foundation for the league before its first game was played, and it reflected the players’ commitment to creating a professional environment that extended beyond simply receiving a salary.
Expansion and the Future of the PWHL
With the league now established, much of the focus has shifted toward expansion and long-term sustainability. Chris explained that expansion is about more than adding teams. It allows the PWHL to reach new audiences, attract sponsors, and increase its value to potential broadcasting partners. The league has also used its Takeover Tour games to introduce professional women’s hockey to new cities and evaluate potential expansion markets.
However, choosing a market involves more than determining whether fans will purchase tickets. Each new team needs professional locker rooms, training facilities, recovery spaces, and other resources necessary to support its players. Partnerships with NHL organizations can help provide access to facilities, ticketing infrastructure, and operational experience. Chris highlighted Seattle as an example of the benefits of strong NHL support, although he explained that markets without NHL teams can also succeed if they provide an appropriate professional environment.
Expansion also presents challenges involving competitive balance. As the league adds roster spots, it must ensure that the quality of play remains high, and that new teams have a realistic opportunity to compete. Looking ahead, Chris identified sustaining fan interest and securing a long-term broadcast agreement as two of the league’s biggest priorities. While the PWHL has generated considerable excitement, long-term success will depend upon convincing fans to return year after year and developing reliable revenue streams.
Chris’s own responsibilities have changed considerably since the league’s early days. Initially, he was involved in nearly every aspect of establishing the PWHL, including hiring general managers and head coaches, negotiating player contracts, securing facilities, and developing league rules. As the organization has grown, his responsibilities have become more specialized. Today, much of his work involves communicating with the Players Association and addressing issues arising under the CBA, including discipline, appeals, trades, and player appearance obligations. Although his background is in law, Chris described his current position as more of an executive management role, demonstrating how closely legal issues intersect with the business and operational sides of professional sports.
Advice for Law Students Interested in Sports
At the end of our conversation, I asked Chris what advice he would give law students interested in pursuing careers in sports. His advice centered on networking, persistence, and building a strong professional reputation. He emphasized the importance of developing relationships within the industry and remaining open to opportunities that may not initially look like an ideal position. Getting a foot in the door can be difficult, but an initial opportunity can lead to something much bigger.
He also stressed the importance of being dependable, producing strong work, exercising good judgment, and being someone others enjoy working with. Because jobs in professional sports are highly competitive, he encouraged students to expect rejection, remain persistent, and treat finding a job in sports as a job itself. His own career reflects that advice. What began as a legal career outside of professional sports eventually led to an opportunity to help build an entirely new professional hockey league.
The PWHL’s success is an exciting development for women’s hockey, but my conversation with Chris highlighted just how much legal and business work goes on behind the scenes. From negotiating a CBA before the league existed to navigating expansion and labor relations, his experience provides an interesting look at the intersection of law, business, and professional sports.
Thank you to Chris Burkett for taking the time to speak with me and sharing his experience helping establish the PWHL.