NEWSLETTER
Tuesday morning brought interesting business news from the National Hockey League. With their on-ice jersey deal with Adidas set to expire after next season, the league announced a ten-year partnership with Fanatics for the on-ice, authentic jerseys. The deal begins with the 2024-25 season. Financial terms of this new deal were not disclosed.
So the first jerseys we buy for most of the Blackhawks’ 2022 draft class will bear a Fanatics logo.
This is the first time Fanatics will create in-game jerseys for any of the major sports leagues bearing their brand; as the NHL release notes, Fanatics has made Major League Baseball game uniforms with the Nike logo since 2017. Fanatics has been the licensed provided of the “Breakaway” replica jerseys for the NHL since 2017 as well.
Adidas has been the NHL’s official on-ice uniform outfitter since 2017-18, at which time they took over for Reebok (which is owned by Adidas). ESPN was first to report Adidas did not intend to pursue a new deal with the NHL back in July.
For fans who are worried about significant changes to the look of the sweaters worn on the ice, this comment from Doug Mack, CEO of Fanatics Commerce, should provide us some pause/relief.
“We look for evolution, not revolution,” said Mack said in the NHL statement. “We’re not going to change it up just to change it up.”
According to the league’s statement, Fanatics will continue to use the same specs and fabrics for the players’ jerseys as Adidas. They will also use the same factory that has been making the jerseys in Saint-Hyacinthe, Quebec. Also noteworthy, we probably won’t see major design changes until 2026-27 season.
