Skip NavigationMarketsBusinessInvestingTechPolitics & PolicyVideoWatchlistInvesting Club
PRO
LivestreamMenu
- Fanatics and the NHL debuted Hometown Remix, a special-edition uniform and apparel program covering all 32 teams.
- The program gives Fanatics responsibility for league-wide jersey design and execution, expanding its role beyond manufacturing and retail, the first such deal with one of its professional sports league partners.
- NHL teams will wear the jerseys during select 2026-27 games, while the NHL and Fanatics plan to evaluate fan response for future programs.
All 32 team jerseys for the NHL’s new Hometown Remix collection, which was developed in conjunction with Fanatics.Fanatics
In most professional sports arenas, rinks and stadiums across the globe, the gear that fans are now wearing to games is made and designed by sports merchandise giant Fanatics. But that isn’t always the case for the jersey that the players are wearing on the field, ice or court.
On Monday, Fanatics and the NHL debuted the Hometown Remix program, a collection of uniforms and apparel for all 32 NHL teams. The new designs and look of each jersey is focused on each team’s city and fan base. It marks the first time that Fanatics has designed and developed a league-wide jersey program for one of its leagues partners, which include the NFL, NBA, and MLB.
For some leagues, such as the NFL, while Fanatics may manufacture jerseys that fans buy in stores, other consumer-focused products and even what coaches wear on the sidelines, what players wear on the field may be manufactured and designed by a different company. In the case of the NFL, that is Nike. In MLB, while Fanatics manufactures player jerseys, Nike designs them.
Fanatics has been a partner of the NHL since 2005, mainly focused on retail and e-commerce. But in 2023, as the league’s jersey deal with Adidas lapsed, Fanatics expanded its partnership to include on-ice uniforms and authentic jerseys.
When that deal began alongside the 2024-25 season, it marked the first time that Fanatics branding appeared directly on an official player jersey in a professional game, a massive evolution for the company.
The new collection takes that a “giant step forward in our partnership with the NHL,” according to Andrew Low Ah Kee, CEO of Fanatics Commerce, the company’s merchandise business arm.
“What’s exciting to me about it is that not only is it all 32 teams, it’s actually that Fanatics is singularly responsible and accountable for the design and execution of the program in partnership with the [NHL] and the clubs,” Low Ah Kee said. “Whereas we work with Nike and others on other leagues and different programs.”
Low Ah Kee said the process for this collection began when its expanded deal with the NHL took effect in 2024, and Fanatics’ design team has been working across the league, its teams and players since.
Some of the process itself hasn’t been totally new: Fanatics has designed jerseys in conjunction with the NHL and some of its teams for tentpole events like the Winter Classic, Stadium Series and the 4 Nations Face-Off. However, not every NHL team has participated in one of those events.
But Low Ah Kee said doing it in the NHL, which he said has the “most complex construction of any sports jersey out there,” while also adding new design elements, highlighting unique aspects of each team’s fans and local culture, has been a big moment for Fanatics.
“I don’t think this will be a capstone, but this is certainly a big milestone in the relationship that we have,” Low Ah Kee said.
Brian Jennings, NHL senior vice president and chief partnerships and club strategy officer, said the league appreciates the legacy and reverence that hockey jerseys — often called sweaters — hold for fans of the sport. At the same time, Jennings said the league has been excited to create new designs around a league-wide platform that celebrates local team culture.
“Each market and city is unique … we love to celebrate that uniqueness,” Jennings said.
Jennings said that each team will wear its jersey for a set of games throughout the remainder of this season, providing opportunities to highlight the designs and storytelling.
The Hometown Remix jersey for the Carolina Hurricanes.Fanatics
While this is just set to be a program for the 2026-2027 season, Jennings said that if a team wanted to integrate some of the logos, colors or designs into a future alternate jersey or other products, the NHL and Fanatics would be open to it.
This Hometown Remix collection is also setting the groundwork for future league-wide efforts with Fanatics, Jennings said. “In an ideal world, we’ll start to ideate immediately around what is another version,” he said. “Once we have the ability to collect some insights, what was successful, what wasn’t, what do we want to turn the volume up on, and what’s a differentiator … we want to keep the design integrity really, really high and delight and excite fans.”
Jennings said these moments do boost the business side as well. While he declined to provide specific targets, he pointed to the bump that the league and teams see when new jerseys and merchandise are released for special event games like the Winter Classic. He also noted the follow-on effects on things like ticket sales and sponsorship activation when teams host special theme nights or special jersey matchups. “It creates a lot of excitement for the clubs that they can market around,” he said.
Low Ah Kee said Fanatics is “very aware” that the launch of this league-wide program is happening just ahead of holiday shopping season. At the same time, this collection of jerseys is “limited supply,” he said. The prices of these jerseys do vary slightly from some of the traditional NHL jerseys due to some of the unique production features, Fanatics said.
Pricing on Hometown Remix jerseys with custom lettering and numbering are $275 for a premium jersey and $500 for authentics (same as worn on ice by players).
Both Jennings and Low Ah Kee acknowledged the challenges that come with launching new designs of beloved team jerseys: the somewhat unpredictable fan response.
Jennings said that there are so many unique design elements, not just on the front of the jersey but down to the hockey socks that the players wear and how certain parts of the jersey are embossed and raised, that he believes that “fans will really respect that fact.”
“The debate about the design will always be ongoing, but I think they’ll see the quality come shining through,” Jennings said.
When these new jerseys hit the ice on players’ backs, it’ll come with the Fanatics flag brand on it as well, and Low Ah Kee said while that is a point of pride for the company, it’s also a reflection that Fanatics is “accountable for the quality of the garments, the manufacturing of the garments, the design of the garments,” he said.
“The protagonists in the story are the fan and their team; we’re the supporting actor, and we know that,” Low Ah Kee said. “Our job is to think about how do you make that better. Hometown Remix we hope is going to be a really great way for fans to express their love of their cities, their clubs and their markets overall, and we hope people have fun.”
watch nowVIDEO04:38Fanatics’ Michael Rubin on taking the sports platform to the next levelCNBC Sport Events
Sign up for our weekly, original newsletter that goes beyond the annual Disruptor 50 list, offering a closer look at list-making companies and their innovative founders.
Choose CNBC as your preferred source on Google and never miss a moment from the most trusted name in business news.Read More
