2025 NHL Sponcon Scouting Report

👋 Welcome back to Sponcon Sports, a weekly newsletter dedicated to sponsored content strategy in the sports industry!

This Red Sox fan just gave teams a new way to sell the postseason.

As the MLB Postseason kicked off, this TikTok hit my For You Page and instantly stood out.

His girlfriend doesn’t like baseball, but she agreed to watch the games with him—so he made a custom bingo card to make things more fun. It works like normal Bingo, except the prizes get better as the playoffs go on.

Plenty of teams already offer Bingo (sponsored or not) in their apps (mainly during the regular season) to drive engagement and data capture, but this video sparked some fresh ways to expand postseason inventory:

1. Title sponsorship: Sell in a Bingo title sponsorship where the prize from the brand increases in quality or value as the playoffs progress. It keeps things fresh and gives fans a reason to come back — especially as the excitement builds around a championship run.

2. Multi-brand Bingo: Split the Bingo sponsorship between multiple brands, so fans can win a new prize each game. This approach keeps engagement high while allowing more partners to get involved at a lower cost — perfect for postseason windows where upsell budgets are tight.

3. Partner-powered prizes: If your Bingo title sponsor doesn’t have a tangible product (think: healthcare, banking, B2B), use prizes from mutual brand partners. Toyota does this well in its NFL partnership. While it gives away a car in its Gameday Giveaways Sweepstakes, other prizes come from partners like Uber, Jersey Mike’s, and Marriott.

It’s worth noting that tickets, merch, experiences, or team store discounts (online promo codes for easier activation) can also be leveraged to replace or enhance the prizing approaches laid out above.

In the end, you don’t always need a new idea. Sometimes, you just need a new angle. When done right, even the simplest activations, like Bingo, can become your next great sellable postseason asset.

In Today’s Edition:

• NHL Scouting Report 📋️

• Athlos Athletes Cash In 💸 

• Chicken Shop Race 🏎️ 

🏊️ DEEP DIVE
The Best Sponsored Content From The NHL’s Opening Week

The NHL season just started, and the early trends in sponsored content are already clear.

Teams are leaning into fan culture, simplifying production, and finding new creative lanes for familiar partners. And while plenty of fan-favorite activations are still running strong, I didn’t rehash them here. You can find those in last year’s edition, linked here.

Here’s what caught my eye.

Winning Strategy

Some sponsorships feel forced. Others feel inevitable — the ones that just make sense. Here are a few NHL teams that nailed the strategy behind their Opening Week content.

The Winnipeg Jets understood the assignment when it came to celebrating Kyle Connor’s contract extension.

For context: Connor’s “KFC” nickname started organically in Winnipeg, when fans began chanting “Kyle F---ing Connor” after his clutch plays — eventually shortened to “KFC.” A local KFC leaned into it last spring, rebranding with Connor’s cartoon image on its signage (replacing Colonel Sanders) and even creating special buckets designed upside down so fans could wear them as bucket hats.

So when the extension dropped, the Jets brought the chicken QSR back into the moment:

• The announcement was supported through a KFC drive-thru skit.

• The bucket hat reappeared in a social post clapping back at a false narrative.

• And Colonel Sanders himself popped up in the start of the extension hype video.

They’ve kept the connection alive, too — every Kyle Connor goal now gets a custom “bucket” animation on Instagram Stories (shown above).

Staying in the Western Conference, the Anaheim Ducks launched a partnership with BYLT that includes a branded travel series called BYLT to Fly, featuring players in co-branded apparel. It’s the kind of polished, lifestyle-first execution you usually see in European sports — and it works perfectly here.

The Toronto Maple Leafs took a similar approach with adidas, rolling out two pieces of co-branded content: a “sounds of the weight room” feature showing players training in adidas gear, and the 3 Stripe Challenge — a series of quick competitions built around reflexes, coordination, and control. A smart nod to the brand’s identity.

The Boston Bruins turned power-play goals into instant engagement with their Repost to Win sweepstakes. Every time the B’s light the lamp, fans can repost for a chance to win co-branded Gifford’s Power Play Fudge ice cream. It’s a clever spin on the typical Goal GIF — and the “Gifford’s on GIFs” wordplay is the cherry on top.

In Edmonton, the Oilers found a smart home for Legacy Heating & Cooling by pairing the brand with milestone graphics. It’s not an obvious fit at first, but the name connection makes it feel intentional — the kind of creative match that adds meaning to a standard content format.

The Vegas Golden Knights spread the love among three auto partners — Lexus, Toyota, and Vegas Auto Gallery — by featuring each during player arrivals on the Gold Carpet before their season opener. A simple way to make a crowded sponsor category feel balanced and cohesive.

And once again, the Pittsburgh Penguins placed Ford on their rookie call-up BTS content. Associating the brand with moments of player growth and excitement gives it a natural emotional lift — a small, consistent placement that builds long-term equity.

All of these executions work because they’re not just branded — they’re strategically branded. The name, placement, and creative all line up to make the sponsorship feel inevitable, not inserted.

Standout Design

Good design isn’t just about clean visuals — it’s what helps a sponsor stand out in a crowded feed. Here are a few teams that nailed the details in Opening Week.

The Penguins refreshed their Power Ball Power Play goal highlights’ design with the Pennsylvania Lottery, and it’s a subtle but meaningful upgrade. Moving the logo from the bottom right to the top right keeps it from being covered by the sound icon on X, and placing it on a white background gives it better contrast and visibility.

The Chicago Blackhawks shifted FanDuel from their Gameday Graphics to Game Previews — a smart repositioning that better aligns the brand with key stats fans use to inform a wager. The new layout highlights the over/under cleanly without making the post feel overly ad-like.

The Minnesota Wild pulled off a classic Instagram feed hack, sharing a special ticket package that included a Wild-branded YETI tumbler and unlimited soda refills.

Many teams have branded goal GIFs, but my favorite came from the Vegas Golden Knights, who gave Morgan & Morgan strong exposure with clean and clear branding throughout the animation.

The Bruins and Colorado Avalanche both continue to crush lower-third design. The Bruins’ Honda Keys to the Game looks polished and on-brand, while the Avs find a clean way to feature Ticketmaster in their locker room reaction videos.

The Los Angeles Kings revamped their Kings Keys series with Splitero, a fintech company for homeowners (hence the connection to keys). Instead of using video segments hosted by Josh Schaefer, they turned it into a graphic — keeping the brand visible from start to finish. It’s also easier for the team to activate, with no need to capture or edit video.

And finally, the Tampa Bay Lightning continue to refine the details — they moved Sherwin-Williams’ logo up in their #WallpaperWednesday series so it’s no longer cropped on X.

It’s a reminder that small design tweaks — logo placement, color contrast, timing — can make the difference between something fans scroll past and something that actually lands.

Naming Conventions

Sometimes all it takes is a great name to turn a logo slap into something fans want to engage with. Naming gives an idea identity — and it’s often the key to getting brand buy in.

Here were some of my favorite examples:

The Golden Knights run a series called Overcoming The Odds with BetMGM — a recap feature highlighting comeback wins. It’s a perfect fit for a sportsbook partner (across the industry), though it’s best treated as a standalone feature since you can’t guarantee how often those moments happen. The Golden Knights published four Overcoming The Odds stories last year (three in the regular season), and paired the series with Stat of the Week. If you plan to try this, there’s room to expand beyond comebacks, too — maybe spotlighting low-probability plays like second-chance saves or long-distance goals.

Another clever example: the Philadelphia Flyers call their game previews Toyota RAV4 Things — a simple, brand-right twist that’s instantly memorable.

The Oilers put a smart spin on the fan roll call by calling it Check In with Air Canada — a clean alignment between brand and category. Over in Winnipeg, the Jets call this Final Call, another solid fit.

The Vancouver Canucks rebranded their On This Day in History videos as From The Vault, making a seamless connection to Sentinel Storage.

And finally, WaFd Bank and the Seattle Kraken leaned into the pun — checking. It’s a little corny, sure, but it’s category-perfect. That wordplay could go even further in-venue: imagine a trigger promotion that rewards fans when an opponent goes to the box for checking and paired with penalty box signage for added pull-through. On the social side, you could call Question of the Day, Checking In.

Whether it’s a pun, a metaphor, or a brand fit, a great name is what turns basic sponsorship into something memorable.

🔍️ SPONCONSPIRATION
Steal These Ideas

Athlos athletes got paid fast, really fast! As part of a new sponsorship, Cash App handled immediate prize payments at last week’s Athlos NYC track meet. Winners and top finishers received their payouts within minutes of results being confirmed, and it was smartly showcased on social to highlight a big improvement from previous delays that took several business days.

Bryson DeChambeau’s latest Break 50 episode featured Golden State Warriors star Stephen Curry, and it was packed with sponsorship done right. Each integration served a purpose. Bucked Up Energy launched a 50% off flash sale to capitalize on the 24-hour hype (already 600K+ views), Gentleman’s Cut Bourbon positioned itself as the celebration drink after a hot start. Sportsbox AI powered by Google Cloud roasted Steph’s swing, then showed how to fix it — a practical use of AI any golfer could use.

Passenger Princess with Amelia Dimoldenberg debuted this week and it’s another win for F1’s partnership playbook. The first episode featured Mercedes driver George Russell, and Amelia’s signature deadpan humor translated perfectly to the new format. It’s a fun blend of F1 polish and Chicken Shop Date awkwardness that just works.

Love how UCF Football integrates the ThreatLocker logo into their Defensive Play of the Game series. By giving it a matching white background to Instagram’s native text, it feels more natural to what fans already see on the platform. It’s a clean execution—similar to how the San Francisco 49ers weave Gatorade into their Performance Player of the Game content.

Really enjoyed the NFL’s content from the Cleveland Browns vs. Minnesota Vikings matchup in London. Vikings running back Aaron Jones appeared on Max Klymenko’s Career Ladder series, and the league put its own spin on the Overheard concept with Listening in London. While the full episode pulled in 260K+ Instagram views, an Aaron Rodgers–focused clip topped 1.8M.

🚨 ICYMI
What To Watch For

Influencers On Ice: The Detroit Red Wings are launching a creator affiliate program, #Hockeytown, giving local influencers access to exclusive experiences, retail drops, Red Wings games, and events.

Money In the Metrics: Dizplai Marketing Director Joe Edwards breaks down how sports organizations are leaving millions on the table by overlooking advanced segmentation of their first-party fan data—and shares strategies to turn untapped insights into real revenue.

The Power of Preseason: A WSC Sports survey from July 2025 revealed why the preseason deserves more attention. Nearly 60% of fans say they’re more likely to follow a team if they see strong content early in the season—and 75% say they’re just as likely (or more likely) to buy tickets, merch, or subscriptions in the preseason as later on.

From Campus To Commerce: According to Goat Agency’s white paper, From Campus to Culture: The Rise of NIL Influencers, 67% of women’s sports fans are more likely to choose products from brands that sponsor female athletes—a clear sign of the growing commercial influence of women’s sports.

Charged Up Content House: The Los Angeles Chargers announced a multi-year partnership with Splitero that includes launching the Chargers Content House built by Splitero at The Bolt, the team’s state-of-the-art training facility and headquarters. Splitero will also be integrated into three original series produced out of that space.