So I’m currently living off the severance payment that EA gave me when they shut down the studio I worked at. If you’re a regular reader of this blog, this isn’t news to you. Essentially, EA has given me some money to go away and not work for them anymore. It’s simply business and I don’t take it personally. Did you know the same type of thing happens in professional hockey? Well not exactly the same since players are signed to guaranteed contracts and I was on salary (with no guarantee on how long the job would last). There is, however, a clause that allows teams to pay players to go away. It’s called a buyout and players are paid a portion of their entire contract to not play with their team anymore.
Today, the Philadelphia Flyers exercised their right to use a compliance buyout for goaltender Ilya Bryzgalov. The Flyers had signed him to a nine-year deal just two years ago, almost to the day, for $51 million dollars. They will now pay him $23 million dollars over the next 14 years or about $1.6 million a year to not play for the Flyers. Getting close to $2 million a year to not play hockey is pretty cool. It’s often said that it’s easier to make money when you have money. I’m not sure if that fits exactly here but even getting laid off is way better when you’re a professional athlete. When you play pro sports, you can grow your millions by doing nothing. I wish someone would pay me millions to sit at home.