The Buffalo Sabres look to be partnering with the company Legends to find a corporate sponsor whose ad the team will wear as a jersey patch.
In 2022-23, the NHL’s controversial jersey patch program has allowed teams to partner with one company as a jersey patch sponsor. You may have noticed these sponsorship patches on the chest of several NHL teams this season. Or, you may not have noticed anything.
There have been many gripes among the NHL community regarding the addition of these tiny jersey patches, which in most cases, are hard to see unless you are specifically looking for them. Since the 2022-23 NHL Season began, I have only noticed one that really didn’t look like it belonged: The Highmark logo on the Pittsburgh Penguins home jersey. Blue just doesn’t clash well with black.
Other than that, I’ve seen the patches, and they don’t look entirely out of place. And it’s why I’m generally not worried about the Sabres snagging a patch from a corporate sponsor.
Dear Buffalo Sabres fans, no need to fret about one patch
Sponsorship ads on uniforms are nothing new, as we have seen them in the AHL. We have also seen them on the NFL training camp jerseys, and the NBA has been wearing them for a few years now. These ads, which often measure between three and five inches, are hardly visible and they take away little from the overall uniform aesthetics.
I do, however, understand the concern and worry. Take one look at a European hockey league, and you see walking billboards on the ice every night. So much that I can’t even watch Liiga or the SHL because both the uniforms and ice have so many ads it’s literally migraine-inducing.
That said, I highly doubt the NHL will turn into that – we can keep the walking (or driving) billboards in NASCAR. One reason I don’t see this occurring is because the NBA has yet to expand their ad program, something that, back in 2017, I was 99.9% sure was going to happen.
Needless to say, I was aggravated regarding their initial ad program in the NBA. But given its overall lack of growth, I don’t mind it. So perhaps I should retitle this article: Buffalo Sabres: No need to worry about upcoming jersey patch sponsor UNLESS the NHL starts to turn into NASCAR or European hockey.
I can live with a small ad that I can barely see when I’m watching the games. It’s just like the flashing boards – I actually don’t mind them because there are times you’re looking at blank boards and that’s kind of refreshing. Now, if the NHL starts allowing teams to put ads up and down the jerseys, on the pants, and even on the skates, then I’m going to have a problem.
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Article Source: While leading Bills stadium project, Legends to take on Sabres partnership by Michael Petro