The NHL’s version of the ‘Bobby Bonilla deal’ has finally expired

Shea Weber's contract with the Nashville Predators, signed in 2012, finally expired on July 1, 2026 — 14 years after it was originally agreed. Weber, who has been retired for five years and inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2024, continued to receive payments throughout that period despite no longer playing. The deal has been compared to baseball's infamous Bobby Bonilla deferred-payment contract, where a player is paid long after their active career has ended.