In the ever-evolving landscape of professional sports, certain headlines make even the most seasoned hockey fans do a double take. When a player’s name appears alongside that of a living legend, it usually signals a story of record-breaking goals, championship glory, or unforgettable moments on the ice.

But occasionally, the comparison comes from a place no one expects—one that speaks more to the changing times than to the players themselves.

This is one of those stories. It’s a tale not of highlight-reel goals or MVP trophies, but of numbers: the kind that show up on a paycheck rather than a scoresheet. In a league where the salary cap grows each year and television deals reach staggering new heights, the financial side of hockey has quietly rewritten its own record books.

Suddenly, a reliable defenseman known more for his steady presence than for spectacular plays finds himself eclipsing the greatest name in the sport—not in points, but in dollars earned.

What does it mean when a modern role player surpasses an all-time icon in career earnings? The answer says as much about the business of hockey as it does about the game itself.

Cody Ceci (left) Wayne Gretzky (right) Photo credit: All Habs

Here’s a figure that, at first glance, seems to come straight out of a parallel universe: Cody Ceci has officially earned more money in his career than Wayne Gretzky, the greatest player in hockey history.

Thanks to his latest contract signed earlier this summer with the LA Kings, the Ottawa-born defenseman has now accumulated over $50 million in salary since entering the NHL in 2013.

Of course, inflation, league revenue growth, and generational differences explain much of this surprising contrast.

But the simple fact that a supporting defenseman, never selected to an All-Star Game, has earned more in straight salary than the holder of nearly every offensive record in NHL history is enough to make hockey fans raise an eyebrow.

With his recent contract, Cody Ceci has now surpassed Wayne Gretzky in career earnings at just over $50,000,000.

Yes, I know about inflation and how misleading a statement that is but it’s still fascinating that Cody Ceci has made $50,000,000 playing hockey.

At his peak in the 1980s and 1990s, Wayne Gretzky was undoubtedly the face of global hockey. Yet, his career earnings never surpassed the $50 million mark in pure salary. The majority of his income came from endorsements and business ventures.

In contrast, Cody Ceci, a first-round pick in 2012, has never been a top-tier star. But he managed to stay in the NHL for over a decade, signing a series of lucrative contracts-especially in an era where the salary cap has skyrocketed, now exceeding $88 million.

Ceci has played over 800 regular-season NHL games, with stints in Ottawa, Toronto, Pittsburgh, and Edmonton. A reliable defenseman, a good skater, but rarely spectacular, he has nonetheless always found a team willing to sign him.

His most recent contract, which guarantees him a few more seasons at a respectable salary, has officially pushed him past the legendary #99 in terms of gross earnings.

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It’s difficult to compare eras in professional sports

While some may see this kind of comparison as heresy, it must be viewed in context. Today’s athletes operate in a completely different ecosystem: global TV rights, league revenue growth, massive broadcasting deals, higher salary floors All of this has transformed hockey’s financial reality.

No, Cody Ceci is not superior to Wayne Gretzky-neither on the ice nor in hockey history. But financially speaking, he has just entered a surprising category, symbolic of a sport that has profoundly changed.

And for fans who see this statistic as a quirk of modern hockey, one thing is certain: the world of professional sports is far from done producing gaps as fascinating as they are baffling.