Adidas Takes NHL Rights From Reebok
Neil Weilheimer
Managing Editor
For years, Adidas spent millions on an ad campaign promoting that it was “all in” on everything it did. But the last few high profile deals with major sports groups like the NBA and NFL sent a different message: It was all out.
The German company is hoping to show its commitment to global sports by signing a seven-year partnership with the National Hockey League on Tuesday. The company-owned Reebok brand has been the league’s supplier for the last decade.
Terms of yesterday’s deal weren’t disclosed, but Adidas will become the official supplier of licensed apparel and headwear for the NHL at the start of the 2017-18 season.
The company said it will also “bring high performance training footwear and apparel to the locker room for every NHL team.”
“This partnership with the NHL is evidence of our comprehensive commitment to the athlete,” Adidas Group North America President Mark King said in a statement. “Adding the league to our growing icon portfolio — which includes premier athletes and U.S. league partnerships across football, basketball and baseball — is just the start for us. Everything we do at Adidas focuses on making athletes faster and we’re ready to bring that attitude to the ice. This is an incredible opportunity to get our most innovative performance products on the world’s best hockey players, on and off the ice, and take the game to the next level.”
Adidas has been taking steps in recent months to become more relevant to American consumers.
It has stepped up partnerships with pop stars — and socially connected personalities — such as Kanye West, Rita Ora and Pharrell Williams. Additionally, it has targeted rising basketball talent like Andrew Wiggins.
More recent, Adidas signed Connor McDavid, the top pick in the 2015 NHL Draft, to its roster.
