GRAND FORKS -- On Saturday, Oct. 5, another season of hockey at the University of North Dakota will be underway.
With each new season, there are new names and faces, but it might be easier to learn the names of the new players for the 2024-2025 season.
"You got your numbers, name bars and the lettering parts," Sioux Shop Manager Jason Carlson said.
Carlson is not getting the letters and numbers out for the jerseys for the hockey team, those are ready to go for the season. These are for the fans.
"So we have a set for adult, all four different colors, and we also have youth," Carlson said.
For the first time, the Sioux shop can now stitch the new jerseys with names of current players on the hockey team, and they will do it during the game at the Ralph Engelstad Arena.
The NCAA recently eased restrictions and now allows student athletes across the country to cash in on their Name, Image and Likeness (NIL).
"All student athletes earn the same royalty percentage, the golf and hockey player earn the same percentage of royalty earnings with the agreement," Makenna Satrom, the Sioux Shop NIL Coordinator, said.
UND has about 350 student athletes, and about 80 of them have inked NIL deals. From the big sports such as hockey and football to smaller ones such as golf and softball.
Hockey is expected to be the biggest seller. It's the only major team at UND and NDSU to have the names of players on the jerseys. However, the Sioux Shop is warning fans they cannot add names to jerseys they already own.
"The player is getting paid based on the total value of the whole jersey, meaning the blank jersey and the decoration," Carlson said.
Since the Sioux Shop started selling NIL gear in May, they've sold 773 items, one-third of those since September.
"I'm excited to see what the demand is. I'm hoping we can make every jersey asked for on game night," Carlson said.
Terms of the NIL deals between the Sioux Shop and the student athletes are confidential.
Hockey jerseys sell between $240 and $450.
The best sellers in September were for football wide receiver Bo Belquist, along with hockey players Louis Jamernik and Ben Strinden.