Fehr on NHL offer: 'Enormous reductions' for players

• Fehr says players could give up more than $1.7 billion over life of deal
• He questions NHL's "make whole" provisions to save current salaries
• Fehr is working on a counter-proposal

NHL Players' Association executive director Donald Fehr has told players that the NHL's Tuesday proposal is less draconian than previous ones "but still represents enormous reductions in player salaries and individual contracting rules."

Fehr broke down the NHL's offer in the memo to players. USA TODAY Sports obtained the memo.

In it, he said, the league's request to drop players' share of hockey-related revenue from 57% to 50% would cost players $231 million in the first year. And the impact would be bigger over the course of the deal.

"Over 6 years, this would save the owners an enormous amount of money, the precise amount depending on how fast revenue grows," he wrote. "For example, if revenue grows at 5%, which the owners predict, they save $1.651 billion that would otherwise be paid to players. If revenue grows at 7.1%, the average rate over the last agreement, the players' share is cut by $1.776 billion. (If revenue never grows, the owners pay players $1.387 billion less over 6 years.)"

Fehr also called in question the NHL's desire to "clarify" definitions of hockey-related revenue.

"It is not immediately clear what this means, but so far all of their ideas in this regard have had the effect of reducing HRR, and thereby lowering salaries," he wrote.

The NHL has said there would be no rollback in current salaries and any losses players have in the first two years would be made up by deferred payments in later years. Fehr questioned the NHL's method.

"The players share in subsequent years would be reduced so that this "make whole" payment would be made," he wrote. "It is players paying players, not owners paying players. That is, players are "made whole" for reduced salaries in one year by reducing their salaries in later years."

Fehr even questioned a league proposal that gives players an additional appeals avenue if they are suspended.

"Players could appeal supplemental or commissioner discipline to a neutral arbitration, on a "clearly erroneous" standard, which, as a practical matter, makes it very unlikely that any decision would be overturned," he wrote.

Fehr and his staff are working on a counter-proposal and plan to present it on Thursday in Toronto.