What’s so wrong about adding more advertising?

A semi-serious look at ways the NHL and the New York Rangers could make more money

There’s no denying the fact that the COVID-19 pandemic has devastated the economy. Some of the hardest hit industries are those that need to have people in seats.  Live theater, concerts and sports have been crippled.  While some teams like the New York Rangers have deep pockets and other revenue sources, everyone is looking for new ways to make money.

The estimate is that each NHL team will lose $1.31 million in ticket sales for each home game with no fans.  Add in about another half million in concessions and merchandise and that’s $1.5 million in lost revenue per game.  Over a regular season and not including playoffs that’s over $60 million.

Let’s remember that at least a few owners were in favor of cancelling the 2021 season entirely, rather than take the loss.

Recently, Elliotte Friedman of TSN reported that the NHL Board of Governors discussed adding advertising to the players’ helmets.

The reaction was predictable, the end of hockey as we know it.

Before the purists have coronaries, it’s an idea worth considering.  Look at it this way.  The NHL is a partnership between the players and the owners with a revenue split.  The players get their share in salary and the owners from ticket sales, concessions and TV rights.  Generate more revenue and things like the salary cap can actually increase.

So, anything the league can do to increase revenue is a good idea.

The current NHL

Gary Bettman has been very vocal for a long time about keeping logos off uniforms. Three years ago he responded to the NBA allowing ads. “The fact of the matter is we take great pride in our sweaters. We think they’re the best in all of sports, and that’s not something we’re running off to do. We think what we have is special. We talk about history and tradition and how special hockey jerseys are.”

One other issue would be exclusivity.  In 2017-18, the NHL did a uniform deal with Adidas (they are the only major sport without a Nike deal) and you can  be sure that Adidas has the right to keep other logos off their merchandise.

When you look at a hockey player, it’s not like they are logo-less.   There are logos on their gloves, pads, sticks, helmets and skates.   In those instances, the players can pick the brands that they choose to use.

There does appear to be a double standard when it comes to goalie pads and helmets.  With that equipment, it’s the opposite of plain and some goalie masks are just wild.  Among the many commercial images on goalie masks you can find Wile E. Coyote, Darth Vader and Looney Tunes own Marvin the Martian (below).

What to do?

The most important issue facing the NHL is financial stability.  At a time when teams are hemorrhaging money and facing a season with zero ticket sales and concession revenue, the purists need to step aside.

The league could keep the jerseys clean with only an Adidas logo.  But adding advertising to the helmets and hockey pants wouldn’t hurt a  bit.  Granted, once you do it, there is no going back.

The league has already experimented with pre-game warmup jerseys dedicated to special causes such as Hockey Fights Cancer.

Why not let the teams sell an ad -filled warm up jersey that comes off when the game starts and then make sure that any pre-game coverage includes a lot of shots of the warm up?

Hey, what about the referees and linesmen.  They get a lot of screen time so put ads on their uniforms.   Would that hurt anyone????

But it’s not just logos on uniforms, the league should be doing anything it can to generate additional revenue.  Would it really hurt to brand in-game elements?  Call it the Timex Time Out.  Call it the Duracell Power Play.  What about the YouTube Video Review?   The New Era hat trick? The Rolex overtime?  The Target shootout?

Hey, let’s replace the goal net with a Target logo!  Let’s plaster the Zamboni with corporate logos! Why can’t the P.A. announcer proclaim “It’s the Swatch last minute of play” in each period?

Okay okay, while some of these suggestions are over the top, the NHL needs to do everything it can to get back to good financial  health.  It’s time to get creative. Adding an advertising logo to a helmet should be a no-brainer.

Some of you may remember when the boards were white and  there was no imagery on the ice.  Now, the boards a filled with ads and virtual advertising is added to the glass during play stoppages.  Has it hurt the game at all?.

After all, when you watch a golfer hit an approach shot  two feet from the pin, are you looking at the Titleist logo on his hat or the UPS logo on his shirt?  When an alpine skier wins a downhill does it bother you when he or she immediately yanks their skis off so you can see the K2 logo?   When you see Stephan Curry hit a jump shot are you focused on the Rakuten logo on his jersey?  And when Artemi Panarin feeds Mika Zibanejad for a  breakway would it really matter if he had a Fedex logo on his hockey pants or helmet?

Agree?  Disagree?  Have a great idea?  Feel free to weigh in below.