Amanda Kessel, a U.S. Olympic hockey star recently sidelined nearly two years by post-concussion effects, signed the largest deal in the one-year history of the National Women’s Hockey League.
Kessel inked a one-year, $26,000 contract with the New York Riveters, which are based in Brooklyn.
Kessel, 24, surpasses the $25,000 salary for Sochi teammate Kelli Stack from last season, but with free agency just beginning, Kessel’s deal could be surpassed this month.
Kessel returned to game play on Feb. 5 for the first time since the Sochi gold-medal game loss to Canada on Feb. 20, 2014. She suffered a concussion before the Sochi Olympics.
Kessel finished this past season and her college career at the University of Minnesota with the winning goal in the NCAA title game on March 20.
The 2015-16 NWHL season ran from September to March.
