Capitals and Devils unveil helmet advertisements for the 2021 NHL season

Sportsnet NHL insider Elliotte Friedman reported a few weeks back that the NHL is "investigating possibility of selling ads on players' helmets" as a way to generate income during a season in which it looks like they will have no ticket revenue.

From Friedman's 31 Thoughts column for Sportsnet:

The NHL is investigating selling ads on players’ helmets. It was brought up on Wednesday’s Board of Governors call; there won’t be any formal comment until team presidents are briefed on Monday.

Across the league, there’s an understanding of the need for more creativity in revenue development. Ads on jerseys will come eventually, but there is a desire to be careful with it. The other reason the league may “test drive” with helmets is to get an idea of where the market stands during COVID. You don’t want to rush into a below-market deal.

Well... don't look now but we officially have a team with a sponsor on their helmet now. The New Jersey Devils announced that the team will wear a Prudential logo on their helmets for the upcoming 2021 season.

Here's the first look at it:

We're proud to be the first @NHL club to have brand placement on our helmets.

Proud to Rock with @Prudential, home and away. pic.twitter.com/e1WhZ1ZG33
— New Jersey Devils (@NJDevils) December 22, 2020

The Washington Capitals have also announced that they'll partner with Capital One for their helmet sponsorship in 2021.

Check it out:

#ALLCAPS ? @CapitalOne

The Washington Capitals have announced Capital One as the team’s season-long official helmet entitlement partner with the placement of the company’s branding on the team’s helmet.

Full Details: https://t.co/CWgaSNDsaF pic.twitter.com/FwUqP2Xa5R
— Washington Capitals (@Capitals) December 22, 2020

Call me a traditionalist or a purist, but personally I HATE this idea. Between television commercials, ads on the boards, ads on the ice and live ads read aloud literally DURING the game... enough already. I don't need more corporate BS shoved down my throat when I'm just trying to watch a hockey game.

Even worse is the thought of having ads placed on jerseys though, something that NHL commissioner Gary Bettman has historically been against but an idea that is now on the table given the tough financial circumstances the NHL finds itself in. Back in 2017 Bettman went on record saying, "It would take an unusual circumstance for us to even think about it," when asked about putting ads on jerseys. Well... I would argue that 2020 and the COVID-19 pandemic qualify as "unusual circumstances."

Recently, Sportsnet reporter Elliotte Friedman suggested that the players themselves could be the impetus for getting ads on jerseys as a way of generating more income during a difficult financial year.

Check it out:

If I was a player, I’d be talking about expanded playoffs and ads on jerseys. Bettman has said in the past the number has got to be worth it. Something small in a corner but enough that you know it’s there. No more of this it’s tradition… It’s time. –Elliotte Friedman on 31 Thoughts Podcast

I have to say... if the NHL does elect to put ads on jerseys, no matter how small or how tastefully they may be done, I will 100% NEVER buy an NHL jersey again. Call me crazy, but I support the team not Toyota, Tim Hortons, McDonald's, Bell, Rogers or any other corporate sponsor.

For what it's worth the NBA allows small advertisements on their jerseys and so far 19 of the 30 teams in the league have partnered with sponsors to place ads on their jerseys. As an example it's believed the Golden State Warriors are receiving $60 million to include this small Rakuten ad on their upper left chest.