Connor Bedard Becomes the New Face of a Polarizing Sports Apparel Brand | Chicago Blackhawks Star
Connor Bedard announced Wednesday he signed an exclusive agreement with Fanatics, a polarizing sports apparel company. Will more players follow suit?
The hockey world is no stranger to endorsement deals, ranging from Auston Matthews presenting the new CCM hardware, or Sidney Crosby's iconic 2006 promotional video for Reebok (known as RBK). It's not only a lucrative avenue for these companies to use the spotlight these stars have to promote their products, but the money gained by these players is always a helpful bit of insurance upon their retirement.
So it was no surprise to hear that Connor Bedard, the reigning Calder Trophy winner and Chicago Blackhawks superstar announced Wednesday alongside Fanatics that he was signing an exclusive deal with the sports apparel and memorabilia brand:
The collaboration will allow not only jerseys, but all sorts of memorabilia from pucks to sticks to be signed by Bedard for purchase; beyond that Bedard also has the exclusive rights to sign game-worn merchandise from the regular season, All-Star Game, and possibly any other avenues such as International Hockey. Bedard already inked an endorsement deal with Gatorade in his young career
This was confirmed by Greg Wyshynski on X:
Bedard will be working with the Fanatics Authentic; a division of Fanatics that focuses on memorabilia and game-worn merchandise. He joins a litany of other pro athletes who have joined under the Fanatics umbrella such as Tom Brady, Aaron Judge, Victor Wembanyama, Auston Matthews, and Jayson Tatum amongst others. These are the top of the elite in their respective leagues, and Bedard takes his place among them with only the sky being the limit for the superstar; well-deserved honestly.
Bedard had a sensational rookie season with 22 goals and 39 assists for an atrocious Blackhawks club who finished 23-53-0-6 last season. He was one of the lone bright spots for the team alongside Philipp Kurashev, who has finally found his footing in the NHL and broke out last season with 18 goals and 36 assists. Bedard won the Calder Trophy for Rookie of the Year, and enjoyed a generational three seasons with the Regina Pats, scoring 271 points in 134 games including an absurd 143 points in 2022-2023; scoring 71 goals that season.
Fanatics signed a deal with the NHL to be the exclusive jersey manufacturers for the league, adding to them making jerseys for the MLB exclusively which has received an immense amount of backlash from fans and players alike for the odd jersey lettering and numbering, as well as concerns over the quality of the uniforms. While there haven't been any official complaints yet, the new Fanatics jerseys didn't hold up to snuff for at least one practice, as Seattle Kraken's player Matty Beniers was shown on X with a big rip in his jersey already.
The deal between Bedard and Fanatics will no doubt bring more exposure to not only the NHL but for Bedard, who is set to become one of the league's elite players for the next decade or so. It's a win-win situation all around.
| POLL | ||
Who will follow Connor Bedard as the next player to be a Fanatics exclusive? | ||
| Macklin Celebrini | 61 | 57 % |
| Nikita Kucherov | 18 | 16.8 % |
| Mikko Rantanen | 10 | 9.3 % |
| Igor Shesterkin | 18 | 16.8 % |
| List of polls | ||
