Fanatics to become NHL jersey outfitter starting with 2024-25 season

The NHL announced Tuesday that Fanatics will replace Adidas as the outfitter of the league’s jerseys beginning with the 2024-25 season. The deal will run for 10 seasons, while financial terms were not disclosed.

The move is the latest expansion by Fanatics, the world’s largest manufacturer and retailer of licensed sports merchandise, into sports and will mark the first time the Fanatics logo will appear on an official uniform in one of North America’s five major sports leagues. The news comes about eight months after Adidas revealed it would not be extending its seven-year deal as the NHL’s jersey and apparel supplier past the 2023-24 season.

Fanatics, which was acquired by Philadelphia-born businessman and now CEO Michael Rubin in 2011, has been a longtime partner of the NHL, and since 2017, has manufactured the league’s replica jerseys, hats, and other forms of apparel. Rubin, who grew up in Lafayette Hill and briefly attended Villanova before dropping out, previously was a minority owner of the New Jersey Devils, as well as the Sixers.

”This expansion of our partnership with Fanatics is a reflection of our shared commitment to innovation, performance and serving our players and fans,” NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman said in a statement. “… Our players and fans should look forward to what Fanatics will bring to the best uniforms in all of sports.”

Rubin, 50, called this a “seminal moment” in the company’s history and “a testament to the hands-on, collaborative relationship it had built with the NHL over the years.

”I can’t wait to see our brand on official on-ice uniforms for the first time,” Rubin said.

Fanatics, which currently runs the NHL’s e-commerce site, has manufactured the jerseys for Major League Baseball since 2017, although the company’s logo does not appear on the uniforms. The company, which will generate around $6 billion in revenue this year, plans to use its factory in Saint-Hyacinthe, Quebec to manufacture the NHL’s jerseys.

How much of a difference will a new manufacture make? Not much initially, Doug Mack, CEO of Fanatics Commerce said.

“I believe what you’ll see over time is an evolution in the chassis of the jersey, an evolution in design elements, and that’s going to be player-driven,” Mack said in a statement. “As you see the exciting stars of the game, we’re going to want to know what they feel will help them feel great about their performance. We’ll translate that into the product, and then the fan will be getting something that’s really player — and equipment manager — informed.”

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