Report: All the details of Auston Matthew’s historic $60 million contract

Cap hit, term, bonus structure, negotiation strategy and all the details.

HockeyFeed
HockeyFeed
Published 5 years ago
Report: All the details of Auston Matthew’s historic $60 million contract
Toronto Maple Leafs

In case you missed it, the Toronto Maple Leafs announced earlier today that they’ve signed superstar forward Auston Matthews to a five year contract extension worth over $58 million.



Matthews’ new deal will take him through the 2023-24 season and comes with a $11.63 million cap hit per season. When it expires he’ll become an unrestricted free agent at just 26 years old and is free to sign a contract with whomever he chooses on the open market.

Interestingly enough, Mathews’ new deal will be paid out almost entirely in signing bonuses, essentially making it “lockout proof.” If there’s no season, the players do not collect a salary, but they’re still entitled to their bonuses.





Matthews may be an American citizen, but it’s probably safe to say that Canada Day, July 1st, is now his favorite day of the year.

For those wondering why the Leafs didn’t lock up Matthews on a seven or eight year deal, Chris Johnston reported that Matthew’s ask on a longer deal was in the $13 million to $14 million per year range, which was simply too rich for the Leafs to consider.



It remains to be seen how this will affect the Leafs’ negotiations with pending restricted free agent Mitch Marner, but suffice it to say that the Leafs will be in tough to fit all their good young players under the salary cap.


Source: CapFriendly