Fanatics

Fanatics will replace Adidas as the NHL's outfitter of on-ice uniforms and authentic jerseys beginning with the 2024-25 season, the league announced.

"Each step of the way, you've just watched this increase in commitment to product, commitment to performance, commitment to design," Jennings told ESPN. While there will be differences in some of the fabrics and materials, "it will be almost indiscernible" to the jerseys currently in use, said Jennings. In short order, it became apparent that Fanatics offered something "very appealing" to the league as a jersey-maker, especially given its existing partnerships as an apparel maker and e-commerce retailer. "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 is a sports industry market leader and with its proven track-record in e-commerce and retail operations, licensed fan merchandise and performance gear, our players and fans should look forward to what Fanatics will bring to the best uniforms in all of sports." "This is a natural evolution of our partnership with the NHL," Doug Mack, CEO of Fanatics Commerce, told ESPN.

The NHL has partnered — in the most meaningful, long-term, high-stakes way possible — with an apparel brand nobody actually seems to like.

That’s enough time for the “Fanatics Experience” to improve — and it’s more than enough time for it to get worse. If you find yourself saying some version of “caveat emptor,” or comparing the choice to buy from Fanatics with the choice to buy from other fast-fashion spots like Uniqlo or H&M or whatever, remember one important thing: It’s a hell of a lot simpler, and no less convenient, to buy a pair of jeans from someplace else. Plus, the league release and ESPN story are both dotted with quotes from the relevant parties designed to head off at the pass questions like “Hey, doesn’t all your stuff fall apart in the wash?” Also, Fanatics is using the same Quebec-based factory as Adidas, which seems wise. And the stakes are a little higher than the $23.73 I dropped on my Bad Shirt. All of that, Tuesday’s announcement included, branches from a business model of making clothes that a) tend to be the only option a buyer has and b) stink. The off-ice repercussions, though, started on Tuesday, and they’ll last until 2035. What started in 1995 as a brick-and-mortar store in Jacksonville, Fla., grew into a behemoth with licensing deals for every major sport and more than 900 entities overall. It is, of course, Fanatics, the brains behind That Shirt I Didn’t Like. Many people do not like this company. And it sucked. Lots of replica NHL jerseys, too. It was black and long-sleeved.

The 10-year deal marks the first time Fanatics branding will appear on official player uniforms in professional sports.

Over the next 18 months, the company said, it will build teams and expand resources in preparation for the rollout. "Fanatics is a sports industry market leader and with its proven track-record in e-commerce and retail operations ... Terms of the deal were not immediately available.

Why did the league choose Fanatics? How soon will we see changes for teams? What other innovations are in the works?

Jennings mentioned that season as the earliest target for significant changes to the NHL sweater. But Jennings said those jerseys were made in the spirit of "limited drops or a scarcity model," meaning we shouldn't expect to see these particular versions of those jerseys for quite some time. "The NHL has made bets on us in the past, we've delivered on those bets, and this was a natural place to go next." In fact, Jennings said that the NHL would have ended the Reverse Retro program had Adidas reupped with the league. That design process can be an intense and lengthy one, which is why the NHL will ask teams to put a hold on uniform overhauls for the time being. One of the reasons Fanatics will use that factory in Saint-Hyacinthe is so the jerseys have little variation from what they are today. "The Fanatics brand is fairly well-known to fans, but we're often thought of as more of an e-commerce company," Mack said. In 2017, Fanatics acquired the rights to make replica jerseys for fans and created the "Breakaway" jersey. "Each step of the way, you've just watched this increase in commitment to product, commitment to performance, commitment to design." "I understand there may be, initially, some trepidation [from fans], but I do have a lot of confidence in the team at Fanatics," Jennings said. In short order, it became apparent that Fanatics offered something "very appealing" to the league as a jersey-maker, Jennings said. I guess the only thing that I could say is to let us prove the things that we're talking about, right?"

The sporting apparel company will replace Adidas, which last year said it would not extend its contract as the league's uniform supplier beyond the 2023-24 ...

Fanatics said it also will survey players and equipment managers when it takes over production of their jerseys in another year. Fanatics said that when it took over the manufacturing of replica jerseys in 2017, it tweaked the design after speaking with fans. Now, in addition to fan jerseys, Fanatics will produce tens of thousands of jerseys for players each year, all of them made in Canada, as part of a new, 10-year agreement with the N.H.L. As part of a licensing and sponsorship agreement with the N.H.L., the company’s “F” logo will appear on the back of player jerseys for the first time. agreements have tended to run longer than those of other leagues, said Paul Lukas, the founder and editor of In the past decade or two, leagues began working with just one company to standardize production and distribution. CCM was the exclusive uniform provider from 2000-1 to 2003-4. Through the 1990s, most major sports leagues and their teams cut deals with several suppliers to produce and sell licensed merchandise. replica jerseys that fans can purchase, as well as the training gear that players and coaches wear in practice and during games. For the N.F.L., Nike manufactures uniforms for players, but Fanatics makes the “authentic” N.F.L. Rubin said his company, which is privately held, sells about $150 million a year in hockey jerseys and other gear to fans, up from about $10 million when the company began working with the N.H.L. Fanatics, the world’s leading licensed sporting apparel supplier, will begin making and designing jerseys for N.H.L.

The NHL's 10-year deal with Fanatics is historic, marking the first time Fanatics branding will appear on official player uniforms in professional sports.

"Fanatics is a sports industry market leader and with its proven track-record in e-commerce and retail operations ... The league has also supplied its players and coaches with Fanatics-designed hats and helmets. The terms of the 10-year marketing deal were not immediately available on Tuesday.

The deal marks the first time the Fanatics logo will appear on game uniforms in professional sports.

Complaints about the quality of items are vast and many, and that’s a major issue when you’re talking about a big-ticket item like a hockey jersey. Plus, with the NHL, inertia tends to win out, and they had a pre-existing relationship with Fanatics. However, Fanatics and the NHL have partnered together for several years on fan apparel, headwear, replica jerseys, licensed memorabilia and more in stores and online.

Fanatics is set to become the league's official on-ice outfitter beginning in the 2024-25 season. Fans were less than thrilled.

The NHL's official press release said Fanatics will use the same Canadian factory — and even some of the same fabrics — Adidas had been using to produce the league's on-ice uniforms. Still, there is one thing for certain — the fans aren't on board. Firmly established in the zeitgeist, a search-engine query related to apparel for nearly anything will lead you to Fanatics. Adidas announced in July 2022 it would not return as the NHL's uniform supplier. So why did the NHL decide to switch manufacturing partners? The 10-year agreement had fans, many of whom have complained about the company's quality for years, up in arms.

As fans, we're accustomed to seeing the Nike swoosh or the Adidas stripes on sports uniforms. But this NHL deal will mark the first time Fanatics branding will ...

Jennings mentioned that season as the earliest target for significant changes to the NHL sweater. But Jennings said those jerseys were made in the spirit of "limited drops or a scarcity model," meaning we shouldn't expect to see these particular versions of those jerseys for quite some time. "The NHL has made bets on us in the past, we've delivered on those bets, and this was a natural place to go next." In fact, Jennings said that the NHL would have ended the Reverse Retro program had Adidas reupped with the league. That design process can be an intense and lengthy one, which is why the NHL will ask teams to put a hold on uniform overhauls for the time being. One of the reasons Fanatics will use that factory in Saint-Hyacinthe is so the jerseys have little variation from what they are today. "The Fanatics brand is fairly well-known to fans, but we're often thought of as more of an e-commerce company," Mack said. In 2017, Fanatics acquired the rights to make replica jerseys for fans and created the "Breakaway" jersey. "Each step of the way, you've just watched this increase in commitment to product, commitment to performance, commitment to design." "I understand there may be, initially, some trepidation [from fans], but I do have a lot of confidence in the team at Fanatics," Jennings said. In short order, it became apparent that Fanatics offered something "very appealing" to the league as a jersey-maker, Jennings said. I guess the only thing that I could say is to let us prove the things that we're talking about, right?"

Fanatics will replace Adidas as the NHL's outfitter of on-ice uniforms and authentic jerseys beginning with the 2024-25 season, the league announced.

"Each step of the way, you've just watched this increase in commitment to product, commitment to performance, commitment to design," Jennings told ESPN. While there will be differences in some of the fabrics and materials, "it will be almost indiscernible" to the jerseys currently in use, said Jennings. In short order, it became apparent that Fanatics offered something "very appealing" to the league as a jersey-maker, especially given its existing partnerships as an apparel maker and e-commerce retailer. "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 is a sports industry market leader and with its proven track-record in e-commerce and retail operations, licensed fan merchandise and performance gear, our players and fans should look forward to what Fanatics will bring to the best uniforms in all of sports." "This is a natural evolution of our partnership with the NHL," Doug Mack, CEO of Fanatics Commerce, told ESPN.