Pittsburgh Penguins Offseason Thoughts: Why Adidas Jersey Ads are Good for the NHL
By Ned Taslaman
As you probably know by now, the Pittsburgh Penguins and the rest of the NHL will be dawning new jerseys shortly, as the NHL has signed a deal with Adidas to begin producing the NHL’s team jerseys starting in 2017.
Many fans of the game seem to be adamant about introducing Adidas to replace Reebok jerseys because of the fear that advertisements are next. Even Blake Wheeler took to twitter to give his thoughts on the advertisements that could soon be on an NHL jersey.
Despite some of the negative feedback, the deal with Adidas is necessary towards the development of the sport and league. This is one of the many steps the NHL is taking towards bringing itself out of the cave and into the spotlight to be a major sports league in North America and gain ground on the MLB, NBA and NFL.
The NHL even announced a digital partnership with the MLBAM that will improve production quality and resources for online content.
The new jerseys will be a step toward a major brand developing hockey products and it’s assumed that it will lead to advertisements of the sport and league through Adidas retail stores and affiliations.
The Adidas brand has experience sponsoring sports like the British Premier League where all team jerseys are made through Adidas and most recently the Womens world cup. It is also rumored that Adidas will have the rights to the 2016 World Cup of Hockey which will be held by ESPN.
Connor McDavid, this summer’s first overall pick and widely proclaimed future face of the league, has already filmed a commercial to promote Adidas. It is sought after by Adidas that Pittsburgh Penguins Captain Sidney Crosby features in an advertisement as well once his endorsement deal with Reebok expires this month.
Since this deal involved a global company like Adidas and ESPN, sponsoring hockey through new advertisements and store products, which it is currently lacking, will help sell the game of hockey to the public and get new people interested and playing hockey.
New fans will obviously mean more money for the NHL. The deal itself will provide a large revenue source for the league, as the current deal with Reebok is said to pay the NHL $35 million per year and the rights fee is expected to double with Adidas. Lets not forget that as great of a sport as it may be, business is business. Any time that a large amount of money can be made and the sport is being highly advertised and commercialized to gain new fans, it will be a success. Both parties win in the deal by promoting each other.
When it comes to advertisements on the jerseys, which is rumored to follow, it will most likely happen as well. The biggest concern for people seems to be changing the jerseys of their favorite team and the placement of these advertisements. I think that the league will take a long hard look at how this process works out. Not only is the team logo considered but the lettering for captaincy as well.
Each team being able to choose their affiliation will also be another cross-promotional deal with the NHL similar to the deal with Adidas. The sponsor must be chosen carefully and precisely, it must be a seamless transition. We can see how the advertisements and Adidas jerseys work in the BPL. Very tasteful and well put together.
All of the deals the NHL have made were strictly for the progress of the sport and for that reason nobody who loves hockey should dislike these moves. What better way to celebrate a sport by seeing everybody play and become new fans.
Connect with me @NedTaslaman.
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