Hockey Legend Mark Messier’s Game 7 Brand to Launch Apparel With Centric

Mark Messier knows a thing or two about performing under pressure.

During his storied 25-year NHL career he helped bring home six Stanley Cups, five with the Edmonton Oilers and one with the New York Rangers, played in nine game sevens — and won seven of them.

That was the impetus for his latest business venture, appropriately named Game 7. In partnership with actor Danny DeVito, Issac Chera of Crown Acquisitions and entertainment executive Mat Vlasic, the former chief executive officer of Bravado, Game 7 is a multisports entertainment brand centered around the significance of the seventh game in the world of sports.

The company started out with a successful five-part anthology series titled “Game 7” on Amazon Prime Video. Now the Game 7 team is partnering with Centric Brands to launch an apparel collection.

The line of elevated licensed sports team products will be sold exclusively on Amazon.

“Our tag line is: ‘Evolving the two greatest words in sports to the greatest IP in sports,’” Vlasic said. “A few years ago we found that there was an opportunity to build something around those two words. They were near and dear to Mark’s heart, and to him, they represented the pinnacle of sport — and how it can transcend to life. That really resonated with us and we set out on this journey to build this brand.”

Vlasic, whose résumé includes working with household names such as Taylor Swift, the Rolling Stones and Travis Scott on their images and their merchandise, said that experience made him realize that communities are created through content. So they set out to explore the experience of competing in game sevens through the lens of the athletes who were part of the action.

The series spanned a number of sports and included the Rangers’ unforgettable win over the New Jersey Devils in 1994, where Messier guaranteed the fans a win — and delivered — as well as the Chicago Cubs’ 2016 World Series victory after 108 years of disappointment.

The series was just nominated for a sports Emmy and it’s that success that prompted the leap into the apparel arena.

“I’ve always been a strong believer in content to commerce,” Vlasic said. “Amazon worked with us on the content side, and they’re one of the largest retailers in the world, so together, we felt that there would be a great opportunity for the three of us to really revolutionize the sports merchandising business by creating an innovative 360-degree content and shopping experience, which we’re rolling out. We saw a real opportunity and a need for premium product on the Amazon platform to the Amazon consumer, and to be able to get it in lightning speed.”

Jason Rabin, chief executive officer of Centric, said even before he partnered with Game 7, he had been having conversations with Amazon about creating products for its sports-obsessed shoppers.

“They’re making major investments into the streaming services of the NBA, NFL and others,” Rabin said. “They asked us if we would be interested in creating products for their consumers. At the same time, Mat and his team were creating the content for ‘Game 7’ and we said, ‘What if you take both sides — the content and the commerce — and you have one big brand?’”

Rabin said the Game 7 line “is about true athletes who built their brand through performance, and now we want to take what they’ve built their careers on and provide amazing products.”

Rabin acknowledged that there’s no scarcity of licensed sports product available in the market, but he believes Game 7 will be different. “What’s exciting is that it’s coming through the lens of athletes who made these sports what they are today,” he said. “The goal is to have great quality fabrics, great quality design, great quality embroidery, and a reason to exist. We don’t want to be just another line of sports merchandise. When you have partners like Mark and other athletes, it feels like a different point of view. And when you see and touch the product, it’s not just about a brand slapping a label on something. There’s meaning behind it.”

Other athletes and investors include Dirk Nowitzki, Jason Kidd and Chris Mullin, although they are more behind-the-scenes, the team said.

The collection features unisex T-shirts, hoodies and fleece bottoms available in sizes small through XXL. It will retail for $28 to $110 and available for free, fast delivery through Amazon Prime. The initial drop will be centered around the NBA with NHL, WNBA, collegiate, kids and women’s-specific product to come.

Centric operates a portfolio that generates some $6 billion in revenues at retail. It owns Hudson, Robert Graham and others, and is a licensee for more than 100 brands including Coach, Michael Kors, Tommy Hilfiger and Under Armour. Its business includes a sports and entertainment pillar that launched a collection with superstar soccer star Lionel Messi last year. Game 7 will fit into that pillar.

“Game 7 is a brand that brings together the dynamic energy of big games coupled with the adoration fans have for their teams,” Rabin added. “By combining Centric’s innovative designs, operational strengths and retail partnerships with Game 7’s unique perspective on sports culture, we’re positioned to offer an outstanding product line that will now reach an even broader audience with Amazon customers.”

“We’ve always believed that what you wear impacts how you feel, how you perform and how you connect with the people who support you,” Messier added. “This collection is about more than style; it’s about mindset. Every piece is designed to reflect the intensity, purpose, and pride it takes to rise above your biggest challenges — and to create a connection between athlete and fan.”

“As a huge sports fan myself, I am pleased to be expanding Amazon’s officially licensed sports apparel selection to include this exclusive, elevated collection from Game 7,” said Jenny Freshwater, vice president of Amazon Fashion, Fitness and Creators. “We look forward to helping customers conveniently find whatever they need to cheer on their favorite team in style.”

Game 7 apparel will offer products for all teams, regardless of whether they have experience playing in game sevens. That means it can ultimately expand beyond the NBA, MLB and NHL, whose playoffs run seven games, to include the NFL and memorable Super Bowls, tennis, golf and other sports.

“John McEnroe says the fifth set in Wimbledon is a game-seven moment,” Messick said. “There’s so many things that happen, not the literal sense, that create that same kind of energy, that same kind of consequence.”

Vlasic pointed to Rory McIlroy’s gut-churning win of The Masters golf championship earlier this month as another example.

The marketing plan for Game 7 apparel is not finalized but Messier is not expected to be the face of the brand. “I would say, it’s TBD, but as the brand evolves, we’ll do what’s right for the brand,” Rabin said.

Looking ahead, Vlasic said the Game 7 team has “lots of ideas that we’re working through” for future films. “While game seven is in the literal sense that final game of the NHL, the NBA, the WNBA and MLB, we really look at it as a moment of finality, a moment of consequence. So it can represent the Final Four or the Super Bowl. We’re looking to expand the reach of it, and we have tons of content plans, from audio and podcasts into more episodes. So there will definitely be more to come.”

Messier is the lead studio analyst for ESPN’s NHL coverage and is also involved in philanthropic work through his Mark Messier Foundation and other nonprofits. So why does he want to get into the apparel business? Turns out he has experience.

“I actually had a store in the ‘80s where we would take old Levi’s jeans and turn them into jean jackets,” he said. “They were the coolest jean jackets — they had leather patches, they used the waistband as a collar. We started Number 11 manufacturing, and then we went into Number 11 retail. And so that was my first experience in the garment industry, but it was an amazing lesson.”

It’s a lesson he’ll use as he gets further immersed into the Game 7 ethos. And he’ll also draw on his experience winning seven of the nine game sevens he played in during his career. “The two that we lost still sting,” he said. “The players created these iconic moments through a lifetime of lessons learned of how to execute in those crucial moments when the pressure is the most. I think for us to be able to capitalize on that is the star of this brand.”