The NHL and Rogers agreed to a new Canadian television broadcasting deal worth $7.7 billion, according to multiple reports.
With one season remaining on Rogers’ current rights deal, the media giant negotiated another 12-year deal with the NHL, Sportico first reported Monday. The Associated Press and Globe and Mail also reported the agreement, which hasn’t been officially announced. Rogers hasn’t commented on the reports.
Sportico reported owners would vote on the agreement this week.
NHL and Rogers agreed on the current 12-year deal in 2013 for $5.2 billion Cdn. It lasts through the 2025-26 campaign before the new deal – roughly $11 billion Cdn – kicks in for 2026-27 through 2037-38.
This deal is expected to keep most, if not all, national hockey broadcasts on Rogers’ Sportsnet network. The telecommunications company and the NHL agreed on a two-year deal with Prime Video to broadcast a game online every Monday, but that expires with Rogers’ current rights deal.
Rogers has a large imprint on sports in Canada. In September, it announced it’s acquiring Bell Media’s 37.5-percent stake in Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment (MLSE), which owns the Toronto Maple Leafs, the NBA’s Toronto Raptors, MLS’ Toronto FC and CFL’s Toronto Argonauts.
The company has also owned the MLB’s Toronto Blue Jays since 2004.
The Graeme Roustan Show: Edward Rogers And Tony StaffieriEdward Rogers, the executive chairman of Rogers Communications, and Tony Staffieri, the president-CEO of Rogers Communications, discuss their backgrounds in hockey, why the Rogers company wanted to invest in the Maple Leafs and when a Stanley Cup is coming to Toronto.
As for NHL coverage in the U.S., ESPN and TNT hold the media rights through the 2027-28 season after reaching an agreement in 2021. That deal is worth a reported $4.5 billion.
According to the NHL, the 2024 calendar year was the best the league has seen in terms of revenue and business. This season, the NHL said it’s projected to surpass $6.6 billion in revenues.
After stagnated salary caps due to COVID-19, the NHL and NHLPA announced earlier in the season that there will be a $7.5-million increase from the current $88-million cap in 2025-26. In three years, the league projected a $113.5-million salary cap upper limit, $25.5 million more than the current cap.
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