Hockey fans better start getting used to the idea of having advertising on jerseys.
NHL COO John Collins said at the 2014 NeuLion Sports Media and Technology Conference on Thursday that sponsorships on jerseys are “coming and happening.”
The NHL rejected jersey sponsorships in September and likely are waiting for another league to do it first.
“Gary (Bettman) and owners like the money, but they don’t want to be first out of the box with this in North America,” a source told TSN at the time. “They’ll wait for the NBA or baseball to do it and then be the second or third.”
It is estimated that the league would make nearly $120 million with jersey sponsorships.
Some teams already have ads on their practice jerseys to go along with the ones we’ve seen for years on the boards, ice surface and around arenas. However, unlike European leagues, no North American professional sports league has displayed advertising on jerseys yet.
It seems like it’s only a matter of time before that changes.
Photo via Jerry Lai/USA TODAY Sports Images
