NHL Owners Reportedly Approve Use of Jersey Ads Starting in 2022-23 Season

NHL jerseys are going to look a little different starting from the 2022-23 season. 

Per Eben Novy-Williams and Scott Soshnick of Sportico, the NHL board of governors unanimously voted to approve the use of ads on jerseys. 

Novy-Williams noted all 32 teams are free to begin negotiations with potential partners for ad space. The jersey ads must fit into a 3x3.5-inch rectangular patch. 

Per ESPN's Greg Wyshynski, the governors' vote came after the NHL surveyed all of its teams and found the majority in favor of selling ads on jerseys. 

Advertisements on jerseys have become more common in North American professional sports leagues in recent years. 

Major League Soccer has sold jersey ad space since 2007. The WNBA has been doing it since the 2011 season. The NBA has allowed teams to sell 2.5x2.5-inch ads on its jerseys since the start of the 2017-18 campaign. 

Per Deesha Thosar of the New York Daily News, Major League Baseball and the MLB Players Association have discussed selling ad space on jerseys in the past. 

Ads on sports jerseys are nothing new for fans of soccer. Virtually every major club in the sport has at least one ad displayed prominently on the front of its kit. 

It's a lucrative venture for teams. Novy-Williams and Soshnick noted that NHL commissioner Gary Bettman said clubs retained nearly $100 million last season just through ad sales on helmets, which will also be back in 2021-22.