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SAP named official sponsor of World Cup of Hockey jerseys

NHL
NHL

The NHL and NHLPA announced on Wednesday that SAP, the company that overhauled statistics on NHL.com, will sponsor the jerseys for next month’s World Cup of Hockey tournament in Toronto.

The tournament, which begins Sept. 17, will feature all eight teams wearing SAP shoulder patches on their home and away jerseys. The ads will not appear on jerseys that went on sale to the public last week.

Here’s a closer look:

NHL
NHL

According to Sports Business Daily, the league and PA secured $25 million in sponsorships for the entire two-week event.

[RELATED: NHL to use player-tracking technology for World Cup of Hockey]

Now, since the topic of ads on jerseys is back on everyone’s minds you’re probably thinking, “So when will we see them in the NHL?” Commissioner Gary Bettman, who has said in the past he would need to be dragged “kicking and screaming” before that happened, wants everyone to continue tapping the brakes on that idea.

“Nobody should see that and say the next step is to put them on NHL jerseys,” he said.

“I am a believer in the history, tradition and exactly how special NHL sweaters are,” Bettman added via Dan Rosen.

Former NHL COO John Collins said in Nov. 2014 that jersey sponsorships were “coming and happening.” Bettman has also said the league won’t be the first to do so; which means now that the NBA will feature them, it’s only a matter of time before the owners and players see what kind of revenue is available to be split.

“This tournament gives us an opportunity to experiment (and) see if it can be done in a fashion that’s tasteful,” NHLPA head Donald Fehr said, via Mike Traikos.

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Sean Leahy is the associate editor for Puck Daddy on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at puckdaddyblog@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!