Jeff Jackson watched as money and opportunities from legalized sports wagering poured into the NHL. The League was banking deals with sportsbooks. The teams were creating formal relationships with gambling partners, in some cases even carving out real estate inside arenas for them.
Jackson, an NHLPA certified agent and EVP with Wasserman Hockey, wondered: Why not the players?
Earlier this month, BetMGM announced that Edmonton Oilers star Connor McDavid would join Wayne Gretzky and Kevin Garnett among its brand ambassadors. He’s the first active professional athlete from the four major sports to sign with BetMGM.
“It’s a growing business. The NHL and teams are doing deals. Why wouldn’t we look at it?” said Jackson, who represents McDavid. “The players are going to do these deals. If we’re comfortable doing it, and Connor was, why wouldn’t we be out there before everyone else?”
McDavid was one of two superstars to get out early on the endorsement front. Last month, Toronto Maple Leafs star Auston Matthews announced his partnership with Bet99, a Canadian sportsbook and online casino. Matthews’s deal, to start, only includes promotion of Bet99’s free-to-play site.
“I think Auston’s proven throughout his career that he is open minded and wiling to explore different opportunities,” said his agent, Judd Moldaver, EVP for Wasserman Hockey
Active NHL players promoting wagering sites would have been inconceivable a few years ago. Obviously, the legalization of single-game sports wagering around North American changed that in a hurry. But it wasn’t until last October that the NHLPA and the NHL struck a deal to allow players to participate in endorsement deals and promotional involvement with the sportsbooks.
“Once the Players Association and the NHL came to their agreement that the players were going to be allowed to move into that space, we just started looking at it. There was opportunity there to do a cool deal,” said Jackson.
There are some parameters that the players had to follow.
For example, there’s sseparation between a players’ team and the betting entity in advertisements if the team doesn’t have a relationship with the gambling venture. There’s nary a Maple Leafs logo in Matthews’s video teaser for Bet99.
Additionally, the player can’t be shown betting, nor can the player specifically promote betting on NHL games – even if their endorsement deal might be a clarion call for hockey fans to wager on those sites.
McDavid wanted to go a bit further than the NHL/NHLPA deal specified. “A big part of what we wanted was for the responsible gaming part of it to be covered,” said Jackson. “That was the only thing Connor really said to me: ‘I want to make sure that people realize I’m concerned about that.'”
Bet MGM made a commitment to promote and educate on responsible gaming and have systems in place to identify when it becomes an issue. As part of his deal, McDavid will star in a responsible gaming advertisement, similar to the one that the Mannings did with Caesars Sportsbook.
It was Gretzky that introduced Jackson to BetMGM’s chief revenue officer Matt Prevost and vouched for him. The deal with McDavid took a little bit of time, but Jackson said BetMGM’s history, size and safeguards were what sold them on a partnership.
“They have all the elements that you need, that you might worried about if you were doing this with one of the startups. Which isn’t to say that the startups doing have that too, but with MGM there was a comfort level,” said Jackson.
The NHL sees sports wagering as an important part of hockey’s growth in the coming years, especially in the U.S. In McDavid’s case, the reach of BetMGM outside of Canada was a key part of the deal.
“Right now, he’s done deals with Rogers Communications and CIBC Bank and CCM, and those are all Canadian-based companies,” said Jackson. “They’re going to use him in the U.S., quite a lot. That’s the plan.”
For Matthews, the partnership is a chance to continue to establish his brand as an innovator. He was also one of the first NHL players to launch his own NFT as well.
“With respect to his brand, it ties in perfectly. Auston is himself and his authenticity shines through. He had curiosity in this space. Yet his focus remains on his primary goal, which is to win, but he’s not afraid to think outside the box and have a diverse portfolio,” said Moldaver.
Matthews and McDavid are the two most important players of their generation. That appears to be extending off the ice as well.
NHL Awards Futures
Speaking of Matthews, he’s moved into the driver’s seat for the Hart Trophy when it comes to futures betting.
The Maple Leafs center, who leads the NHL with 45 goals, is +200 to win MVP honors at BetMGM as of March 8. McDavid (+325) and New York Rangers goalie Igor Shesterkin (+350) are the other two players with the shortest odd. After them: Washington Capitals star Alex Ovechkin (+700) and McDavid’s Oilers teammate Leon Draisaitl (+900) and Florida Panthers star Jonathan Huberdeau (+900).
This nearly tracks with our latest NHL Awards Watch, in which we poll actual voters on their preferences each month. McDavid missed the top three on the last one, as the Oilers struggled to maintain a playoff seed. They’ve improved, and so has his chances. McDavid has 27.9% of the MVP tickets and 36.9% of the handle. Matthews has 10.4% of the tickets and 32.1% of the handle.
In other awards betting news, Shesterkin and Colorado Avalanche defenseman Cale Makar are the rare players with less than even-money odds for an award. Shesterkin is -350 to win the Vezina Trophy as the league’s top goaltender, with a whopping 72.6% of the handle. Makar is -300 to win the Norris Trophy as the league’s top defenseman, despite Tampa Bay Lightning defenseman Victor Hedman (+700) being right behind him in our Awards Watch.
Detroit Red Wings defenseman Moritz Seider (+225), his teammate forward Lucas Raymond (+275) and Anaheim Ducks sensation Trevor Zegras (+250) have the shortest odds in the race for the Calder Trophy for rookie of the year. Seider has the highest percentage of tickets (41.4%) and the largest percentage of the handle (52.4%). One name to watch: Michael Bunting of the Toronto Maple Leafs, who opened at +3,500 and who is now +500 after leading all rookies in both goals and points through 59 games. The catch: He’s 26 years old, something voters could hold against him vs. rookies who are under 20.
Finally, Darryl Sutter of the Calgary Flames has the shortest odds (+200) and the largest percentage of the handle (59.4%) for the Jack Adams Award for coach of the year.
Trick or Trend
Toronto Maple Leafs over in 3rd period: From Chris Otto, the Maple Leafs are having a whale of a time in the third period. After the Heritage Classic against Buffalo, Toronto’s third periods have gone over 1.5 goals in 30 of the last 33 games. The over 1.5 goals has hit in 14 straight games for Toronto. Friends, this is a trend.
Chicago Blackhawks and the over: The Blackhawks have gone over in six straight games and eight of nine games. Which is a lot. On the season, only 53.3% of Chicago’s games have hit the over. We’re going to call this one a trick. Only three of those games have at a total of at least 6.5 goals. We assume there’s going to be a course correction, either by the oddsmakers or by the Blackhawks reverting back to less eventful hockey.
Pierre-Luc Dubois shot props: Since Feb. 25, the Winnipeg Jets center has been pouring pucks on goal. In that span, Dubois is averaging 4.9 shots per game. He gone over five shots in six of nine games. But we’re going to call this one a trick as well. He’s averaging 15.21 shots and 21.8 shot attempts per 60 minutes in all situations. Prior to this stretch, he averaged 8.64 shots and 14.6 shot attempts per 60 during the rest of the season. This will normalize.