Despite World Cup, NHL Not Close to Ads on Jerseys

“You’re going to have to drag us kicking and screaming”

Those are the words of the commissioner of the National Hockey League Gary Bettman to the Canadian Press when asked about the possibility of the league adding sponsor patches to team jerseys.

This despite the fact that the NHL organized World Cup of Hockey will feature a sponsor patch for SAP on the shoulders of every team jersey next month.

“Doing jersey advertising for the World Cup is not in the same universe as putting advertising on NHL sweaters,” Bettman told the Canadian Press. “It’s far, far, far from front-burner”.

When asked about the National Basketball Association being the first of the big four to approve the use of advertising on in-game jerseys, Bettman responded “I’ve always said, you’re going to have to drag us kicking and screaming. We won’t be first. Obviously the NBA went first. And it would take a huge incentive for us to even consider it.”

We can all collectively exhale now.