For starters, the National Hockey League claims a big cut of playoff gate receipts for its revenue-sharing program, which redistributes money to the more financially frail members of the 30-team league.
The playoff teams also have to kick back fees to help cover the league's costs to produce the playoffs, including expenses for travel, marketing, and officiating.
And all the revenue generated by the NHL's national and international television deals - the Cup Finals will be broadcast in 138 countries - is distributed equally among the league members, so the only broadcasting bonus for the finalists comes from pregame and postgame programming on their local TV and radio affiliates.
"After travel expenses, revenue-sharing, and other expenses, it's good money, but it's not the bonanza that people think," Peter A. Luukko, president and chief operating officer of Comcast Spectacor L.P., said in an interview from Chicago, where the Flyers were scheduled to start the Finals Saturday night against the Blackhawks.
Officials from the Flyers and the NHL don't like to talk specifics, but one industry source said the Flyers could net about $5 million from the monthlong playoffs, and an additional $2 million would accrue to Comcast Spectacor as owner of the home ice, the Wachovia Center.
The earnings for Comcast Spectacor, which also owns the Sixers, are impossible to confirm because its financials are not broken out individually in the $35.7 billion annual report of its parent company, Comcast Corp.
