On Tuesday September 15, 2015, the National Hockey League announced that it inked a 7-year partnership with Adidas AG. Adidas will become the official supplier of on-ice uniforms, as well as the official outfitter for licensed apparel—both clothing and headwear.
The announcement came following several months of speculation. In the hockey world, jerseys (or, “sweaters,” as they’re often referred to) are a big deal. You can’t deny it—hockey uniforms are more iconic and elaborate than in any other sport. This is mostly because hockey jerseys cover a larger area of the body as compared to other sports’ uniforms, therefore affording designers more space for creativity. Accordingly, the anticipation that the NHL may be signing with a new company has generated some concerns leading up to the official announcement.
In general, the concerns focus on whether the new outfitter will bring changes. There has been speculation over the past year that the NHL will begin selling advertisement space on players’ uniforms, similar to the practice of hockey and soccer leagues in Europe. Moreover, others have wondered whether the new company will change the look of the jerseys—Adidas is predominantly known for its soccer apparel, after all.
The NHL announced, however, that it will not permit the sale of advertisement space on the uniforms. And, fortunately for fans, NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman assured that there would be no significant changes to the look of NHL jerseys. Bettman stated the following:
I think that everybody agrees that the history, tradition and respect that goes with NHL sweaters is something that we and Adidas are really respectful of. Reinventing isn’t something we’re about to embark upon. If there are better fabrics that help performance, then we’ll look at that. We happen to like our jerseys a lot and we think our fans do, too.
Fans should also be relieved by the fact that Reebok, the current NHL jersey outfitter, and Adidas are a part of the same corporate family. Adidas is the parent company of Reebok.