NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman during yesterday's NHL marketing meetings in Toronto said that jersey sponsorship is "not imminent" in the league, according to TSN's Rick Westhead (TWITTER.com, 11/12). Bettman's comments come after NHL COO John Collins during last week's '14 NeuLion Sports Media & Technology Conference said jersey ads are "coming and happening" (THE DAILY). TSN.ca's Westhead cited a source as saying that team officials in both the NHL and NBA "have discussed their apprehensions over jersey sponsorships with their respective league officials." The nervousness "is borne out of uncertainty over how money raised through jersey sponsorships might be shared." In the NHL, for instance, players receive 50% of hockey-related revenues under terms of the CBA. If there was "no further revenue sharing," and the Rangers were able to raise $12M a year while the Jets could only raise $2M from jersey sponsorships, that "would mean that after sharing half the proceeds with players, the Rangers would add" another $6M to their coffers, while the Jets would add $1M. An NBA team exec said, "This is a problem for the smaller market teams. They worry that the gulf between small and large market is going to widen." Westhead noted one possibility "being considered in both the NHL and NBA would see teams dedicate a percentage of their jersey sponsorship money into a combined pot that would then be shared equally by the league's teams." Toronto-based marketing agency The Robins Partnership Chair Brad Robins, whose clients include Maple Leafs RW Joffrey Lupul, said that the NHL "should start out its efforts with jersey sponsorships by placing ads on goalie uniforms," as it would be "a modest step towards further commercialization of jerseys that might not anger fans so much" (TSN.ca, 11/12).
