By Mark Seavy

If the licensing industry was seeking evidence of a post-Olympics sales bounce, it was found when Team USA’s hockey-related merchandise scored big with print-on-demand (POD) suppliers.

When the U.S. men’s (February 22) and women’s (February 19) hockey teams won gold medals at this year’s Winter Olympics, demand soared. With licensees unable to prepare and ship win-specific products ahead of the event, POD items become the solution for a hot market.

Another complicating factor was that many products created in the immediate aftermath of the gold medal games were not officially sanctioned by the International Olympics Committee. As a result, POD companies like BreakingT, 500 Level, and Fanatics had to wait until Olympic-related rights shifted to the National Hockey Leage Players Association (NHLPA) on February 23.

That enabled t-shirt designs featuring Jack Hughes (who scored the game-winning goal), the team, or the American flag to be available the following day. Demand for Hughes-related products jumped more than 3,000% between February 22 and March 1, said Jon Wheeler, a Partner at 500 Level.

The wait for products inspired by the women’s team was even longer, since there was no union representing the professional players and negotiations with the seven collegiate players awaited name, image, and likeness (NIL) approvals, licensing executives said. 500 Level is negotiating for the rights to the Team USA women’s team’s 23-player roster, Wheeler said.

Production faced another barrier in Getty Images charging a 6% royalty for Olympics-related photos, something that caused many t-shirt suppliers to rely on graphic designs for what is typically a direct-to-garment digital printing process. The resulting delays meant some retailers relied exclusively on POD for early shipments.

500 Level, for example, delivered 700 shirts (t-shirts, hoodies, and crewneck sweatshirts), including those with an “In Hughes We Trust” design, for Dick’s Sporting Goods stores in the New Jersey and New York Metropolitan areas, given that he plays for the NHL’s New Jersey Devils, said Wheeler. The company supplied product from its POD facility in Austin, TX. 500 Level also supplied products to the New Jersey Devils that will be given to season ticket holders.

Other companies faced delivery delays, which further contributed to the big post-Olympics bounce.

For example, Fanatics launched sales on February 27 but deliveries face a longer route. A USA hockey puck etched with the signature of Team USA’s Megan Keller, who scored the game-winning overtime goal in the gold medal game against Canada, was priced at $49 on Fanatics with delivery by July 31. And a Hughes & Keller Team USA autographed 16- by 20-inch “Golden Goal” ($399) photograph was slated for delivery by November 2. Olympics licensee Outerstuff also fielded a Team USA 2026 Winter Olympics Heart of Gold t-shirt on Fanatics. Delivery of standard t-shirts was listed as seven to 10 business days with an $8.99 fee in addition to the $41.99 retail price.

At the same time, the market also faced a flood of unlicensed Team USA hockey goods across many platforms, including Barstool Sports.

“This was next level [demand],” Wheeler said. “I have never seen a hot market where teams were trying to buy product and grab at everything. There really wasn’t anything made at the start.”

The post-Olympics bounce was also evident in other areas.

U.S. Olympic gold medalist figure skater Alysa Liu sparked a streaming surge of singer Donna Summer’s 1978 disco cover of  the song “MacArthur Park.” U.S. on-demand streams of the song increased 505% following Liu’s free skate performance to the song on February 19, according to the entertainment analytics platform Luminate. Total streams of Summer’s song averaged about 12,000 per day across all major platforms in the six days leading up to the free skate performance but jumped to 115,000 on February 20 and 139,000 the following day.

NBCUniversal, which had the broadcast rights for the Games, sold its advertising inventory a month before their start in Milan, Italy. The Games were part of the company’s “Legendary February” marketing that also included the NBA All-Star Game (February 15) and the National Football League’s Super Bowl LX (February 8).

“Post-Olympic interest in NHL players is extremely strong, both from existing licensees developing new products and prospective new partners. The NHLPA licensing business anticipates finishing this current season at a record level of revenue that should continue to grow into next season and beyond,” said Steve Scebelo, Chief Commercial Officer at the National Hockey League Players’ Association.

In fact, Scebelo said deal flow for athletes with some of the biggest star moments during the Games continues at extraordinary levels and will only be further fueled by post-Olympics appearances on shows like The Tonight Show and Saturday Night Live.