READ before typing - no one said anyone wanted 100K - they said to earn $20,000 he'd have to sell $100,000 worth of advertising.
And yeah the league is a stepping stone - no one said it wasn't. Seems Cassidy decided he'd sacrificed enough for the last 5 years and has decided to move on - didn't sound from the interview like he was bitter, just deciding he was going to concentrate on other things other than hockey.