The PWHL has momentum.
Team names and jerseys, the excitement of expansion talk and a video game.
On Dec. 5, EA NHL 25 released its holiday content drop, a downloadable addition to their wildly popular franchise. In it are all six PWHL teams, their players and even the Walter Cup.
Women’s sports and gaming, two surging growth sectors have converged at an ideal time and now the league can tap into the 3.3 million annual players on the EA NHL franchise.
“The thing we really liked is that they (EA Sports) talked about a gamer today can be a fan tomorrow,” said Chelsea Purcell, PWHL Senior Director of Corporate Partnerships. “They will play before they start watching, following or purchasing, so we reach the gamers through the game and hopefully turn them into a fan and that’s the benefit to us.”
Globally, EA NHL is in the shadow of the company’s other sports franchises, namely EA Sports FC and Madden NFL. However, it did outdraw FC in Canada in terms of monthly active users for October according to NewZoo, a PC and console games data platform.
Both NewZoo and WedBush, a U.S. based financial services firm, state that console gaming revenue was over just over $52 billion worldwide in 2023. WedBush also states that there were 237 million gamers in North America in the same year.
For EA, paying the PWHL and PWHL PA to license logos, player likenesses and other assets is a future play on growth with girls and women, tying in a demographic that has not previously been represented with a gaming hockey league of their own, to an already baked in user base.
Discussions that led to the current deal began 13 months before the multi-year partnership was announced on Nov 13. Terms were not disclosed.
“Historically, early agreements start modestly, creating a foundation for growth as leagues expand their exposure and fanbase,” said Randy Shoemaker, a brand marketing specialist who worked as a product manager for EA Sports from 1998-2000. “For the PWHL, being featured in EA NHL 25 is about more than dollars - it’s about momentum. This pivotal moment reinforces professional women’s hockey as a rising force in the global sports landscape. EA’s commitment to the league underscores its belief in the PWHL’s potential, and this exposure is a springboard for larger sponsorship deals, stronger media partnerships, and a deeper connection with fans worldwide.”
The PWHL was slated to be included in the initial release of EA NHL 25 on Sept. 27 but they had yet to unveil their new jerseys and there were still standard player agreements that needed to be signed before full team rosters could be filled out.
Once that was done, then came the fun part. At two pre-season mini camps in Toronto and Montreal, players got their skeleton and face scans. The results of which have generated entertaining social media posts.
Saroya Tinker, a former professional player who is now the league’s manager of DEI Initiatives and Community Engagement says reactions to “scan day” were fun to observe as there were some players who were ecstatic about how they would appear while others didn’t fuss over it in the slightest.
She also gives a glimpse of how the existing user base is taking to the PWHL in game-mode. Her 14-year-old brother Malachi Tinker is locked in on Chel, the slang term for the gaming franchise.
“(He) has a great respect for the women’s game and he uses a lot of these players just as he would (Connor) Bedard or anyone else in the NHL.”
EA NHL 22 was the first to include playable women’s teams and players when they reached an agreement with the IIHF. Users could play with international teams such as Canada and the United States and utilize players like Sarah Nurse (CAN) and Hillary Knight (USA) representing their national programs.
The following year Nurse became the first woman to appear on the cover which she shared with Trevor Zegras of the Anaheim Ducks.
The NHLs Hughes brothers (Quinn, Jack and Luke) are on the cover of the latest edition of the game but Nurse once again features prominently in the marketing push.
Her manager Phoebe Balshin of Dulcedo Sports and Entertainment says the added exposure Nurse received from being on the case was two-fold. She became more recognizable in the United States and also young boys made the association between the cover and the person.
“I’m with Sarah a lot and one of the most common things (that happens) is little boys saying, “I saw you on the cover of EA Sports”, Balshin said. “Little boys start noticing women’s hockey from that.”
For now the NHL and PWHL will be intertwined in the EA Sports universe but could that change when the current deal expires?
“This is the short term plan,” Purcell said. “The long term plan of course is having our own game.”
How the league views itself in the larger sport ecosystem will play a part in their strategy once the time comes to negotiate future terms.
Speaking on a panel at last month’s PrimeTime Sport Management Conference in Toronto Jayna Hefford, PWHL Sr. VP of Hockey Operations, described the league as “giants within the women’s hockey world” but still competing with the giants of the overall sporting landscape, including the NHL.
So will they stay the course or go their own way? That’s to be determined.
As for now, Purcell acknowledges this relationship has the markings of the most impactful deals the PWHL has signed in its early history.
“This gives reach that not many partnerships can give.”
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