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Business the NHL Way

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Business the NHL Way

Lessons from the Fastest Game on Ice

University of Toronto Press,

15 min read
8 take-aways
Audio & text

What's inside?

The National Hockey League (NHL) is a knock-your-teeth-out pro sports organization, and it’s all business.

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Editorial Rating

8

Qualities

  • Eye Opening
  • Concrete Examples
  • Engaging

Recommendation

The National Hockey League (NHL) is a hugely successful commercial organization with revenues that exceed $5 billion annually. Norm O’Reilly and Rick Burton – former amateur hockey players, lifelong hockey fans and academics who study sports – closely examine the NHL’s lucrative business practices. They rely on colorful anecdotes about the players to illustrate its winning commercial ways, and expertly cite NHL hockey as an instructive metaphor for business. Whether you love hockey or have never seen a game, O’Reilly and Burton show you how to conduct business – on or off the ice. 

Summary

The National Hockey League (NHL) is a thriving enterprise that draws devoted fans.

The National Hockey League (NHL) is a popular professional sports organization representing “the fastest game on ice,” and one of the world’s “10 highest revenue-generating professional [sports] leagues.” It’s a moneymaking machine that manages its business affairs “the NHL way.” ​​​​​​

According to Forbes, the NHL’s revenues reached $5 billion in the 2018-2019 season, and expectations are that revenues will continue to grow, reaching more than $6 billion. 

Team Marketing Report listed the NHL’s average ticket price in 2019-2020 – before COVID decimated sales – as $76. And, during that season, average attendance per game reached 17,000 people. 

Since 1995, NHL revenues have increased more than eightfold. As the league grows, its media deals become increasingly more lucrative, and its franchises become steadily more valuable. NHL teams now have an impressive revenue-sharing plan. Professional hockey is Canada’s top form of sports entertainment, and hockey is growing in popularity across ...

About the Authors

Norm O’Reilly, PhD, CPA, is a dean and professor of sport business at the University of Maine’s Graduate School of Business. Rick Burton is Syracuse University’s David B. Falk Professor of Sport Management. 

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