When the NHL announced their new sponsor with Biosteel in 2022 everything was business as usual. However, the company has since fallen on hard times and it appears as though they can no longer afford to be in a partnership with the league. Biosteel's bankruptcy has forced them to cut ties with the NHL. NHL insider David Pagnotta revealed today that BodyArmor will likely replace them as the NHL's new hydration sponsor.
Things could not be going worse for the company as they reportedly are in debt to the tune of hundreds of millions of dollars. According to the CBC, the company is more than 400 million dollars in debt.
The past few years have been tough for the NHL with regards to the salary cap. Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the NHL has been forced to issue very small cap increases over the past few seasons. Losing a sponsorship deal like this obviously is not ideal either as it could have a negative impact on the league's bottom line. It is not clear how much of Biosteel's 400 million dollar debt id owed to the NHL, but however much it is is money that could be going to cap increases. Hopefully, the new sponsorship deal will bring in enough cash flow to offset the temporary losses from this unexpected issue.
That being said, BodyArmor is not a company that is as well known as Biosteel.
the details of the new deal have not been released yet either but it is possible the new deal hasn't even been finalized. Either way, the NHL salary cap was projected to increase by 4 million dollars next season. Hopefully, this does not impact that estimate too much.
As seen on NHL loses another major official partner
POLL | ||
Do you think the NHL losing its sponsorship deal with BioSteel will effect the league's revenues next season? | ||
Yes | 163 | 24.7 % |
No, new deal will replace it | 497 | 75.3 % |
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