Is Hockey Falling Behind Other Sports in Game Licensing?

The latter includes game licensing, which enables developers like Electronic Arts (EA) to create video game franchises with the correct branding, team names and player identities.

Although some sports continue to generate huge revenues through game licensing, ice hockey has arguably fallen behind many of its contemporaries in this regard. But is this true, and does the NHL have a broader issue with its national and global appeal?

How Does the NHL Make Its Money?

Many sports have profited from the expansion of the video game market, with aforementioned brands like EA developing a diverse portfolio of games. Individual teams are also increasingly inclined to enter into lucrative sponsorship agreements with betting brands like BetMGM, while some other examples are the best online casinos in Canada.

However, the NHL’s financial figures from 2023 revealed that the league generated just $6.8 billion in annual revenue. This was a staggering $11.9 billion less than the NFL, while it was also $3.1 billion short of the revenue figures posted by the MLB and NBA.

What’s more, the NHL remains unusually reliant on the relatively limited revenue source of ticket sales. In fact, 44% of its total revenue is generated via ticket sales, whereas this accounts for just 17% of the NFL’s income. Instead, the NFL makes 66% of its total revenue through media arrangements, including a $2.7 billion annual deal with Disney.

Conversely, the NHL is tied to a $4.5 billion TV deal spread over seven years with ABC/ESPN and TNT Sports. This deal will run through the 2027/28 season, while it only accounts for 19% of the league’s total revenue.

Is the NHL Also Missing Out When it Comes to Licensing?

The NBA is also light years ahead when it comes to TV revenues, having agreed to an 11-year, $76 billion deal with TNT, ABC/ESPN, NBC and Amazon. These agreements suggest that there’s a greater demand to watch American football and basketball in the US, and the 2023 viewership figures reaffirm this.

Ice hockey has also lost ground to its rival sports when it comes to game licensing. For example, both the NBA and NBPA recently agreed to a seven-year, $1.1 billion licensing deal with Take-Two Interactive Software Inc., which is the team behind the award-winning NBA 2K game.

NBA 2K19 was the best-selling sports video game stateside in 2024 and the third-best-selling across all genres. The previous iteration NBA 2K18 has sold a total of 10 million units since its release.

The NFL is still tied to a multi-year, $1.5 billion deal with EA Sports for the iconic Madden NFL franchise. Although this deal will expire at the end of 2025, it remains one of the most lucrative and comprehensive game licensing deals in the world.

Of course, the NHL also has an ongoing deal with EA Sports, which was most recently renewed in 2020. This involves both the National Hockey League and the NHL Players Association (NHLPA), although its value is significantly lower than the deals referenced above.

The Last Word - Can Ice Hockey Improve Its Game Licensing Credentials?

Despite being a staple of the American sporting calendar, ice hockey is significantly less popular than American football, basketball and even baseball. This is reflected by the NHL’s annual revenues and core television deals, which are dwarfed by rival leagues and haven’t increased markedly in recent years.

The same principle applies to game licensing. Ultimately, leagues such as the NFL and NBA are able to leverage their greater popularity and the value of their teams to secure higher licensing premiums, which only increase further with every renewal.

However, it can be argued that ice hockey has a far greater appeal than American football outside of the United States. The sport is certainly becoming increasingly popular on the continent, with the DEL, Swiss National League, KHL and SHL all setting new attendance records during the 2024/25 season.

It’s interesting to note that each of these leagues is featured in annual NHL games, while they can each agree to their own individual licensing deals with EA. For such revenues to be maximised, however, the developers may have to improve their European League season modes and perhaps introduce a little more detail.

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