Helmet advertisements are set to debut during the upcoming 2020-21 NHL season. It’s the first time that the league will allow sponsor ads to appear on uniforms. 

Cash Grab: NHL teams hope to earn more than $15 million combined with helmet ads this season. The Montreal Canadiens and Toronto Maple Leafs are already eyeing $1 million sponsorship deals. 

Analytics firm Navigate estimates that a season of space on NHL helmets will be worth as much as $2.5 million in fair market value for an average team. 

The NBA started putting ads on jerseys in the 2017-2018 season and has generated more than $150 million in revenue with the program.

The American Hockey League, the development level below the NHL, has had helmet ads since the mid-1990s. 

Revenue Recovery: The NHL needs helmet ads to provide some financial relief from the pandemic’s impact on the league and its 31 clubs. 

• The average value of an NHL team dropped 2% to $653 million in 2020, the first decline since 2001
• The league generated $4.4 billion in revenue last season, down 14% year-over-year
• Operating income totaled $250 million, down 68% year-over-year

Nine teams saw double-digit operating losses, up from five during the 2018-19 season.

The Tampa Bay Lightning, defending Stanley Cup champions, posted an operating loss of $11 million. 

MLB teams paid out $1.7 billion in prorated salaries during the pandemic-shortened 2020 season.

That figure is nearly $2.5 billion less than the full 2019 season.

Top 2020 Payrolls

1. Los Angeles Dodgers: $98.6 million
2. New York Yankees: $83.6 million
3. New York Mets: $83.4 million
4. Houston Astros: $81.4 million
5. Chicago Cubs: $80.6 million

The Dodgers topped the league in spending for the fourth-straight year, but 2020’s payroll was the lowest by a league-leader since the 2000 Yankees spent $95.3 million. 

When adjusted for a full season, all but nine teams actually increased their payroll. 

The 2021 season start date and length is still up in the air — a 135-game season starting in May has been floated — but there’s growing mistrust between teams and players.

MLB claimed teams would lose up to $4 billion last season without fans in attendance if players made their full prorated salaries.

Last week, super agent Scott Boras pushed back on the league’s claims: “There’s no team in baseball that lost money last year.”

Licensed sports apparel retailers Fanatics and Lids made a big move to get on college campuses.

The companies jointly invested $15 million in Barnes & Noble Education, which operates 775 college bookstores around the country. Fanatics and Lids will receive more than 2.3 million common shares of BNED stock in the deal. 

Fanatics will bring more college merchandise and a revamped e-commerce experience to Barnes & Noble’s on-campus stores. Lids offers improved access to sales data.  

Both Fanatics and Lids already have vast networks:

• Fanatics has existing partnerships with more than 150 universities to operate e-commerce and mobile store sites. It sells college merchandise for more than 500 schools on Fanatics.com. 
• Lids operates more than 1,200 brick-and-mortar retail stores across North America.

Barnes & Noble Education took a significant hit in 2020, with many campuses shut down. Second quarter sales totaled $595.5 million, a 22.9% decrease year-over-year; year-to-date sales are down 26.8%.

Fanatics raised $350 million in August and is now valued at more than $6 billion.