The National Hockey League announced on Tuesday morning that they've reached a ten-year agreement with Fanatics to become their new jersey provider beginning for the 2024-25 season.
"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. " Our players and fans should look forward to what Fanatics will bring to the best uniforms in all of sports."
Fanatics has drawn heavy criticism from fans ever since they started making replica jerseys and official NHL merchandise in 2017. The quality of their jerseys are very poor, with specific details lacking when compared to adidas' uniforms. Back when Reebok was the uniform supplier for the NHL, there wasn't a big difference between their authentic and replica jerseys, other than the cost.
In their statement with the NHL, Fanatics CEO of Commerce Doug Mack said that there won't be any radical changes at first. It's unclear if he means in terms of the quality of the jerseys and their design or if there won't be any teams that will rebrand in the initial year of the switch.
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Before the announcement with Fanatics, there have been several reports stating that a few teams were looking into a full rebrand, regardless of who the new provider was going to be. So it's something that we'll have to keep an eye on going into next summer and at the 2024 draft.
Many fans were hoping for either Nike or Under Armour to take over from adidas in 2024. Understandably, a ton of fans on Twitter are disappointed with the NHL's decision to go with Fanatics.
Are you happy with the NHL's move to Fanatics as the official jersey provider starting next year or would you have wanted a different manufacturer? Let us know your thought in the poll below.
Source: NHL.comADS
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