The Power of Group Licensing

Group licensing through the NHL Alumni Association (“NHLAA”) enables licensees and sponsors to use the name, image, likeness and other recognizable characteristics (“NIL”) of three or more former NHL players.

NHLAA partners can access a centralized pool of alumni NIL rights, allowing for the efficient creation of products, content, and marketing campaigns that feature multiple players collectively. This framework ensures consistency in rights management, approvals, and distribution across a broad and diverse alumni base.

For licensees and sponsors, group licensing provides scale, efficiency, and creative flexibility. It allows brands to incorporate multiple recognizable players into a single product or campaign—enhancing authenticity and fan appeal—in an efficient and cost-effective manner. The result is a pathway to develop co-branded merchandise, media, activations, promotions, and experiential initiatives that leverage the history and recognition of NHL alumni, at scale.

Group licensing through the NHL Alumni Association plays an important role in supporting the organization’s health and wellness initiatives. Revenues generated from these collective licensing programs help fund a range of services designed to support former players and their families, including career transition assistance, mental health and counseling resources, social work support, and other wellness-focused programs. By participating in group licensing, partners contribute directly to these efforts—helping the NHLAA deliver meaningful, ongoing support and advance its mission of making tomorrow better than today for all NHL alumni and their families.

The NHLAA administers its members’ worldwide group licensing rights, whether the alumni players are on their own, in connection with their former NHL teams, or in connection with their former international federations.