Players were badly abused for years in the NHL, and this story is easy to believe. Gordie Howe played from 1946, to 1971, and never made better than $25,000/per year. GM Adams told Howe he was the highest paid player on the team. After talking to Lindsey, he discovered a few team-mates were paid more.
This is why you never trust your agent without talking to the gm and owner, agents want the best for you but also for them. It's hard to get a quality agent back then.
You need to trust but verify your Sports Agent. These guys can be the guys trying to make a name for themselves. Their fore, they will lie to you so that they( the Agent) will get paid