Adidas has outbid Under Armour and Bauer Hockey, among others, for the rights to make NHL jerseys beginning in 2016-17.
With news of Adidas' takeover it has been widely speculated that ads - to which extent is unknown - will be featured on NHL jerseys once the new deal kicks in.
With that in mind hotstove members share their thoughts on the possibility of ads being placed on jerseys in the future.
Todd Cordell As long as the jerseys aren't covered in ads I don't really have a problem with this. In soccer most teams have a couple ads on their jerseys and I still find them very sharp.
In some European hockey leagues the jerseys are covered with ads and I don't like that at all but if there are just a couple reasonably sized ads I have zero issues with this.
Take the Toronto Marlies jerseys, for example.
Actually, scratch that, you guys are right. Look at how angry @Breeze2Greeze is that he has to be a WALKING BILLBOARD pic.twitter.com/LyM2r2CFw6
— Jeff Veillette (@JeffVeillette) August 19, 2015Does that Scotiabank logo make much of a difference to anyone? Is an ad or two on the jersey really that big of a deal? To me it's not.
Tim Chiasson I don't have a problem with it as part of the in-game experience, but I do have a problem with it on the shelves for fans.
I'm not a big jersey guy, but if I was going to buy a jersey I wouldn't want to have it littered with company advertisements that I may, or may not, agree with. The jersey's on the shelves are for the fans to support their teams/players and it should stay like that.
As far as the players wearing advertisements on the game-worn jerseys, well, who cares? When I watch International hockey I don't get enraged because the jersey's are covered in ads. In fact, I don't even notice that they're there - because I'm too busy watching the actual game to care.
So, if the league keeps the standard jersey's available to fans then having advertisements on the game-worn one's doesn't bother me at all.
James Tanner (via his blog): There can be no middle ground here: putting ads on jerseys is offensive on every level. Shame on the NHL for even floating the idea and shame on anyone who talks about it and doesn't take the NHL to task for a level of greed that is, frankly, sickening.
There should never be ads on the Jerseys.
Jerseys should be sacred.
Consider this: everyone involved in the NHL is already rich. The owners are rich, the players are rich and all team executives are rich. No one "needs" this money and its offensive to even suggest asking for it.
I will never buy a jersey with an ad on it. I will consider quitting watching the NHL if this comes to pass. It's just greed at its absolute lowest point.
The NHL is a big business and there are tons of ways to create revenue without offending fans and desecrating the game.