NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman says ‘No’ to Sweater Ads.
Let’s be honest with ourselves Bruins Nation. We love our team, we love our sport, and we even like our league. Bruins fans thoughts on Commissioner Gary Bettman aren’t anywhere near as positive. He’s the major reason why it’s getting so damn expensive to get nosebleed seats at the TD Garden. His constant desire to expand hockey to places where it doesn’t belong doesn’t help his case either. He’s been at the helm for four work stoppages in the NHL, and he’ll likely be the driving force behind another if he’s here long enough.
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It’s safe to say Gary Bettman is loathed among the fan base.
Every once in a while Gary Bettman does something right. He’s increased the public profile of hockey. He’s helped broker deals that have given the sport serious attention. He’s also taking a stand on the issue of advertising.
During the last lockout, many of the Bruins went overseas to keep their skill set up. A lot of those players ended up in the European leagues where advertising seems to cover their sweaters. The worst example of it was Tyler Seguin while playing for the Swiss team EHC Biel-Bienne. The advertisements covered the chest, arms, even the sweater’s edge. (Seriously, who pays for an ad that most people won’t even be able to read?)
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There was conversation earlier in the season that the NHL and the AHL may experiment with allowing companies to buy ad space on the old hockey sweater. The fans weren’t happy, and they took to social media to vent their frustration. The last thing we would want to see is the spoked ‘B’ surrounded by logos for toothpaste, breakfast cereals, or worse. It appears that Commissioner Bettman has heard the fans pleas and has decided to come down on their side (for a change).
In an interview last Friday, Commissioner Bettman was asked about putting ads on the sweater. To his credit, Bettman took a stand on defending the unblemished sweater. “I’m in no rush to put advertising on our sweaters,” he said. “I like the history and tradition and the way they look. I’ve repeatedly said we wouldn’t be the first and you’d probably have to bring me kicking and screaming.”
While he’s put his foot down on mucking up NHL sweaters, he’s open to the thought of including ad space on other sweaters. The World Cup will take place before the 2016-17 season. The tournament will be held in Toronto, and it may end up being the test bed for any sorts of ads on North American sweaters.
“World Cup, international competition, I don’t know,” offered Bettman. “We may take a look at it. It might be a valuable opportunity. The World Cup jerseys don’t have the same legacy as far as I’m concerned that our regular jerseys have. So (advertising on jerseys) could happen in the World Cup … might not, but it’s not anything we’re focused on doing for the league itself.”