The NHL "appears poised for radical changes to its team jerseys in the wake of a deal that may pave the way for advertising on team uniforms," according to Rick Westhead of TSN. Adidas has won a long-term deal to make uniforms for the 30 NHL teams, beginning in the '17-18 season. It takes over from its corporate cousin Reebok. For adidas, "the NHL deal is a big, if curious, win." Three people familiar with the matter said that the company "beat out rivals Under Armour and Bauer Hockey for the NHL jersey contract." A source said that the NHL's deal with Reebok pays the league about $35M per season. The source added that the new deal with adidas will "see the rights fee double." Both the NHL and adidas declined to comment. A source said the agreement would be formally announced in mid-September. A source said that the deal would "surely mean big changes to uniform designs," perhaps with adidas's familiar three-stripe trademark being added to "some or all team jerseys." The source said, "The NHL might not want big changes like that, but for the money adidas will pay, they'll be pretty aggressive pushing to make the NHL jerseys identifiable with their brand." Moving to a new jersey supplier "may be a natural transition for the NHL to begin introducing on-jersey advertising." During a meeting of NHL team presidents in N.Y. last year, league officials estimated they might raise $4M per team -- or $120M annually -- by allowing corporate sponsors "to put their logos front and centre on jerseys." A league source said, "If you're already deciding on a major NHL jersey overhaul, maybe with adidas striping on the jerseys, then it seems like it would be a good time to introduce the ads, if you plan to do it anyway" (TSN, 8/17).
