On Wednesday it was announced that Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane had signed contract extensions with the Blackhawks that would see both making $10.5 million a year starting in the 2015-16 season.

It also means they’ll be the highest paid players in NHL history, but how do their salaries compare to other athletes in Chicago? Well, not all that well, actually.

NHL salaries aren’t quite up to par with the salaries in the other major sports for all the obvious reasons. So on a lark I decided to see who the top 20 highest-paid Chicago athletes will be in 2015 when the Kane and Toews deals kick in.

How do the highest-paid players in NHL history rank?

1. Derrick Rose – $20.093 million

2. Jay Cutler – $15.5 million

3. John Danks – $14.25 million

4. Joakim Noah – $13.4 million

5. Edwin Jackson – $11 million

6. Jonathan Toews – $10.5 million

6. Patrick Kane – $10.5 million

8. Alexei Ramirez – $10 million

9. Taj Gibson – $8.5 million

10. Brandon Marshall – $7.5 million

11. Jose Abreu – $7 million

12. Matt Forte – $6.65 million

13. Chris Sale – $6 million

13. Starlin Castro – $6 million

13. Corey Crawford – $6 million

16. Lamarr Houston – $5.95 million

17. Patrick Sharp – $5.9 million

18. Brent Seabrook – $5.8 million

19. Jermon Bushrod – $5.75 million

20. Duncan Keith – $5.538 million

Now, granted, by the time 2015 gets here, a few of these guys could be gone. Hell, some of them could be gone by the end of the month. That being said, Toews and Kane only check in at sixth.

Broken down by team it looks like this: Blackhawks (6), Bears (5), White Sox (4), Bulls (3), Cubs (2).

It’s somewhat surprising to see more Blackhawks on this list than any other team, isn’t it? But that’s just the way the salary cap system of the NHL works. While the high end of the salary scale isn’t that of the other major sports, the money is more evenly spread.

For further proof of this, had I done a top 25 list there’s be two more Blackhawks on it (Marian Hossa #21, Niklas Hjalmarsson #25).

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