Can't say I'm surprised at this one. The NHL at least had a legit case last season to allow advertising on helmets across the league and even sell the naming rights to the divisions. That's right, last season was: the Scotia NHL North Division, Honda NHL West Division, Discover NHL Central Division and the MassMutual NHL East Division. Insert facepalm emoji here, right? But with a COVID-ravaged season with zero ticket sales, I could understand a season where more "creative" money had to come in. I hoped it would be a one and done kind of a thing. Now, we get this:
The league's board of governors formally voted this month to approve jersey advertisements. The NHL had surveyed its teams and found the majority of them in favor of jersey ads. The ads will be featured in a 3-inch-by-3.5-inch rectangle, which is larger than the NBA's 2.5-by-2.5-inch space for uniform ads.
ESPN
I know the NBA has done this for years and I've hated it. But last season broke the dam open for the NHL and you know the owners won't give up any of those additional dollars they can squeeze out of the game. This starts in the 2022-2023 season. I won't hold my breath that this leads to lower ticket prices.