Last week’s announcement that Fanatics would replace Adidas as its “Official On-Ice Uniform Outfitter” marked another major step forward for the sports licensing powerhouse. However, the harsh reaction from hockey fans on social media and from some in the media shows Fanatics has work to do to improve its reputation before the deal starts in the 2024/25 season.
The 10-year deal marks the first time Fanatics will directly apply its branding to an official player uniform for a professional sports property.
“We had the opportunity to become not just the brand behind the scenes but the brand in front of the scenes,” Michael Rubin, CEO of Fanatics, told the New York Times.
Adidas announced in July 2022 that it would not renew its seven-year contract with the NHL. Before Adidas, the NHL had its sweaters designed and manufactured by Reebok. Adidas took over hockey jersey designs for the 2017/18 NHL season with a reported $70 million annual contract.
In an interview with ESPN, the NHL’s Executive Vice President of Marketing Brian Jennings, noted that he believes the negative reaction could largely be traced to misconceptions about Fanatics and its capabilities.
“I understand there may be, initially, some trepidation (from fans), but I do have a lot of confidence in the team at Fanatics,” said Jennings. “I look back at the history with our Locker Room, at what they’re doing with other leagues, and I do think that they will be able to do this.”
Fanatics has ramped up investments in manufacturing and distribution capabilities to support its vertically-integrated, quick-turn platform over the last decade. Milestones in that development include the acquisition of Majestic Apparel in 2017, Top of the World (TOW) and Winmark in 2020 and Mitchell & Ness in 2022.
Specifically, in the area of jerseys, Fanatics has made official MLB on-field uniforms and authentic products since acquiring Majestic, first under the Majestic name. Since 2020, Fanatics has made Nike-branded MLB uniforms after the naming rights changed. Fanatics manufactures close to 100,000 on-field uniforms every year for MLB.
Since 2020, Fanatics has made all Nike-branded NFL jerseys sold at retail, including the highest-level authentic fan jersey—the Elite.
For the NHL, in 2017, Fanatics acquired the rights to make replica fan jerseys and created the Breakaway. Among the innovations were more stain-resistant materials and a foldable jersey logo crest. Since 2018, Fanatics has designed and manufactured the NHL’s Authentic Pro merchandise line, performance and training apparel and headwear that the players, coaches, equipment, and training staff wear during practice and at games. Fanatics also manufactures all hot market products for the NHL, including its Locker Room collection, the official headwear and apparel that Stanley Cup champions wear on ice.
Fanatics’ relationship with the NHL began in 2005 when it ran the league’s e-commerce site under GSI Commerce. In 2021, Fanatics opened the flagship NHL store in New York City through its partnership with Lids. The acquisition of Mitchell & Ness in 2022 gave Fanatics retro apparel rights to all 32 NHL teams.
Speaking to CNBC, NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman said Adidas was a “good partner, but they’re more focused on soccer and footwear,” while Fanatics covers the “broad spectrum of everything we’re doing, and we’ve had together pretty dramatic double-digit growth over the last few years.”
In the press release, the NHL and Fanatics stressed that fans shouldn’t expect many changes.
The NHL uniforms will be manufactured in the same factory in Saint-Hyacinthe, Quebec, making the NHL’s on-ice uniforms for over 30 years. Hires to support the launch include Keith Leach, whose prior stops include CCM, Reebok and Adidas, as Fanatics Brands’ NHL VP/GM to spearhead the project. Dom Fillion, its creative lead, served on the on-ice jersey design teams for Reebok and Adidas. He was the initial designer at Adidas when those jerseys launched.
“We don’t feel the need to change all the core building blocks because the current product is a good product,” Doug Mack, CEO of Fanatics Commerce, told Sportico. “What we want to do is to bring our innovation, agility and some design updates…This isn’t reinventing the wheel. It’s the best of both worlds.”
Jennings said the specs for the jerseys will be “exactly the same” and while there will be “differences in some of the fabrics and materials, it will be almost indiscernible to the jerseys currently in use.”
The NHL indicated that the “first significant changes to its on-ice jerseys could be in the 2026/27 season.
Yet social media erupted with images of Fanatics’ products featuring misspelled players’ names, misaligned logos and poor material quality, with many hoping that better-known manufacturers, such as Nike or CCM that had the uniform rights before 2014, would have succeeded Adidas.
Richard Morin wrote for USA Today, “Sports fans from all corners have had a bone to pick with Fanatics for years.”
Sean Gentille wrote for The Athletic, “They’re behind a lot of shirts that a lot of people didn’t like, in fact. Lots of replica NHL jerseys, too. Therein lies the problem with the choice, the announcement and the general reaction from the folks who care enough about NHL apparel to spend their money on it; the league has partnered—in the most meaningful, long-term, high-stakes way possible—with an apparel brand that nobody actually seems to like.”
Sports fans also tend to have apprehensions about potential changes to their team’s jersey with any changeover in jersey rights. Morin noted that NHL fans, in particular, prize their jerseys, particularly fans of the Original Six teams—Blackhawks, Bruins, Canadiens, Maple Leafs, Rangers, and Red Wings. Wrote Morin, “They are an identity that has persisted through generations of fandom. Hockey fans, perhaps more than fans of any other sports, are sensitive to each detail of their team’s uniforms. They know each waist stripe, shoulder yoke and number trimming down to the thread. As a result, there is a real concern that Fanatics, which already has a reputation for quality control issues and lackluster products, won’t live up to expectations.”
Fanatics said it will begin immediately working with all 32 clubs, equipment managers and players to prepare for the debut of its on-ice uniforms during the 2024/25 season. Eighteen months away, Fanatics has time to prove it can deliver.
Rubin said in a press release, “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.”
Photo courtesy NHL
