Geoff Molson would not discuss the financial details of his sponsorship deal for his team’s uniforms. On the other hand, according to an expert consulted by the Journal, the Canadian could pocket a sum between 5 and 10 million $ per year with this new sponsorship.
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These are the estimates of the big boss of the Dulcedo Agency, Karim Leduc.
“With the visibility of the Canadian on television and the derivative visibility that he obtains, it could be a contract between 5 and 10 million annually. The duration of this type is usually two to three years with an option to extend at the end, he mentioned. This is an amount that will be less important for teams that have less visibility.
“Small teams are going to have a harder time selling their ad space even though they’re the ones who need it the most.”
Each team will be responsible for selling advertising space on their jerseys. Some of them will pocket a smaller sum than the wealthiest.
“I would have opted for a shared revenue system in the league,” added Leduc. It would have been more strategic for team owners with smaller markets. The big teams surely wanted a system where it’s every man for himself.
He doesn’t believe teams will only be limited to one sponsor on their uniforms in the next few years.
“Like all owners, Mr. Molson is a profit-loving manager. That revenue will be growing, not shrinking, over the next few years once he gets a taste of that revenue.”
Not a first
This isn’t the first time we’ve seen advertising on NHL jerseys. In the late 80s and mid 90s, the Vancouver Canucks had sold advertising space on their equipment.
At that time, they were avant-garde. However, they had been brought to order by the other formations. During the 1994 playoffs, they notably signed an agreement with Gatorade.
The owners of the Canucks were looking for new sources of revenue in order to combat the weak Canadian dollar. NHL teams had to wait until 2010 to be allowed to place advertising on their practice uniforms again.