By Allison Watkinson
TLL Reporter
The NHL has announced a 10-year agreement that appoints its long-standing partner Fanatics as the League’s official supplier of uniforms and jerseys.
Under the terms of the new agreement, Fanatics will use its operational, design, and manufacturing expertise towards creating official NHL player uniforms.
The new licensing agreement is set to begin with the 2024 to 2025 NHL season, and expands upon the NHL’s ongoing partnership with Fanatics, which initially began in 2005.
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Since their partnership began, Fanatics has expanded its NHL operations to include ecommerce and retail, fan apparel and accessories, replica jerseys, licensed memorabilia, training products, and more.
“This expansion of our partnership with Fanatics is a reflection of our shared commitment to innovation, performance, and serving our players and fans,” said NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman. “Fanatics is a sports industry market leader and with its proven track-record in e-commerce and retail operations, licensed fan merchandise and performance gear—including the popular NHL replica jerseys and Authentic Pro performance and training products — our players and fans should look forward to what Fanatics will bring to the best uniforms in all of sports.”
The Fanatics on-ice NHL uniforms will follow the same design specifications as the uniforms designed by the league’s previous manufacturer, Adidas. The new uniforms will also be created in the same factory used to manufacture the previous line of Adidas-branded team uniforms.
The NHL has stated that the first major changes to its on-ice Fanatics jerseys would not occur until at least the 2026 to 2027 hockey season.
“This is a seminal moment in the history of Fanatics, and a testament to the hands-on, collaborative relationship with the NHL that we’ve built over the years,” said Fanatics CEO Michael Rubin. “In addition to our tireless commitment to super-serving sports fans around the world, Fanatics has equipped athletes, coaches and team staffs with performance products across many sports for years.”
“Everything we do as a company pushes the boundaries to create more highly engaged experiences and revolutionary products for fans, athletes, and partners, and I can’t wait to see our brand on official on-ice uniforms for the first time,” Rubin added.
Fanatics will continue to work with the NHL to prepare for the debut of its on-ice uniforms for the 2024 to 2025 season.
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