The National Hockey League (NHL) has renewed its US partnership with the Navy Federal Credit Union, continuing a deal dating back over six years.
Terms of the deal will see the cred union, known generally as Navy Federal, continue as the official military appreciation partner of the NHL. The deal’s focus is on supporting US Armed Forces veterans, active duty service personnel, and their families.
This support will be conveyed at NHL tentpole events, during broadcasts and across the hockey league’s digital and social channels. Notably, Navy Federal will continue to sponsor the NHL Stadium Series on 1 March 2025 and the NHL Veterans Appreciation Night on 13 November.
Pam Piligian, Chief Marketing Officer at Navy Federal, said: “For us, this partnership continues to be a natural, authentic fit. We’re like-minded organisations both in terms of the passion for hockey and shared values of community, service and integrity.
“We’re proud to create moments where we honour those who serve and form meaningful relationships in the spirit of military appreciation.”
Military partnerships are a common occurrence in US sports. Whilst in countries such as the UK sports teams often observe a minute’s silence during events like Remembrance Sunday, in the US support for the armed forces is a regular feature of the sporting calendar.
This comes in the form of military bands and other appearances at stadiums, flypasts during key events, and in the case of this newly announced deal, marketing partnerships. These activations are seen across the four major leagues of US sports.
The National Football League (NFL), for example, has five ‘Salute to Service’ partners – Pat Tillman Foundation, Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors, United Service Organizations, Bob Woodruff Foundation, and Wounded Warrior Project.
These partnerships extend the four major leagues to other prominent sports organisations. The UFC, for example, maintains sponsorship deals with the US Marine Corps and US Air Force, and earlier this year signed a partnership with the Black Rifle Coffee Company (BRCC), a coffee firm founded by US Army special forces veterans.
Commenting on the renewal of its deal with Navy Federal, Jason Jazayeri, NHL Vice President, Business Development, said: “We are delighted to extend our partnership with Navy Federal after many productive years of collaboration to support Active Duty military, Veterans and their families.
“We look forward to continuing to celebrate and honour members of the military community across some of our key tentpole moments throughout our partnership.”
