The world’s fastest sport may become the world’s fastest billboard, as the National Hockey League is looking to boost its sponsorship revenue by allowing sponsorship patches on team jerseys, starting in 2022. The Associated Press broke the news, saying the league’s Board of Governors had unanimously approved the move.The strategy shift is not a total surprise, as the NHL added helmet advertising last season, which helped meet team sponsor’s revenue targets for a season in which negotiated agreements were disrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic.But the move toward added sponsorship goes much further than a temporary adjustment for pandemic lockdowns. The NHL added helmet ads last season, which largely allowed teams to make sponsors whole during the pandemic for previously negotiated agreements, and has been increasing its sponsorship revenues steadily over the past five years.In the 2017 season the NHL earned $560 million from sponsorships, and increased that to $597 million in 2018, and $645 million in 2019. Surprisingly, as the pandemic cast its shadow over the 2020 NHL season, the league still boosted sponsorship revenues to $676 million, according to data analysis firm IEG.As well, other major league sports have gone down this road and demonstrated the revenue potential. The NBA began selling jersey patches in the 2017 season, when Nike became its official apparel sponsor. That program has brought in an additional $150 million in revenue.
