Thursday, December 13, 2012
Dear Ira Podell
Please stop reporting this falsehood:
...with the variable in salary being no greater than a 25% difference between the highest-paid year of the deal and the lowest.
First of all, mathematically, you can’t say % difference between two numbers. If someone has 20 pennies, and someone else has 40 pennies, what is the “% difference”? Well, the guy who has 20 pennies has 50% less, and the guy who has 40 has 100% more. But, there is no “% difference”. To do a % difference, you need a common denominator. Say, for example, there is a 7% difference in how much they revenue split is between the last CBA (57%) and this CBA (50%).
Secondly, and more importantly, the true offer is that the lowest salary is 25% of the highest salary (see: Sidney Crosby, which Fehr cited in his press conference). So, he can have a 3MM$ salary in one year and 12MM$ in another year. In other words, his lowest salary is 75% less than his highest salary. 75, not 25.
Now, I will absolve you somewhat, because Fehr in his own memo didn’t make it clear (at all). But, please, you are driving me nuts with this false information of a key issue.