Gatorade will not renew its sponsorship of the NHL, which expires at the conclusion of the current season. The PepsiCo-owned sports drink brand’s global head of marketing, Jeff Kearney, said Gatorade and the NHL “weren’t aligned on the financial commitment to renew.” He added that the brand plans to focus on women’s sports and college athlete NIL deals going forward.
PepsiCo in '18 signed a five-year renewal of its sponsorship agreement with the NHL, which in addition to sports nutrition included exclusive North American rights in the non-alcoholic beverage and savory snack categories. It was unclear at press time whether PepsiCo and the NHL plan to extend their relationship in the other two categories beyond this season. PepsiCo has been an NHL sponsor since '06.The league said it would have an announcement at an "appropriate time following the Stanley Cup Final.”
