CME Group is preparing to introduce the first index-based futures contracts tied to the National Hockey League (NHL), marking a further step in the company's expansion into sports-linked financial products. The launch comes amid a broader expansion of event-based sports contracts in the United States, where prediction-market platforms and retail brokers began rolling out sports outcome markets in 2025.

Pending regulatory approval, the new contracts are set to begin trading on September 28, coinciding with the start of the NHL's 2026-2027 season.

The futures will be based on CME FutureSports Performance Indexes (FSPI), which convert official NHL statistics into structured financial benchmarks. The indexes track play-by-play performance data for each NHL team, awarding points for positive plays and deducting points for negative ones under a transparent, rules-based system. That design ties the contracts to a running measure of team performance rather than the result of a single game, setting them apart from point-spread wagers at sportsbooks.

Two contract sizes will be offered. The standard contract will be valued at ten times the underlying index, while a smaller "micro" version will be worth one-tenth of that amount. The two-tier structure mirrors CME's approach in other asset classes, where micro contracts — such as the Micro E-mini equity index futures introduced in 2019 — opened index trading to smaller accounts. Both NHL contracts will trade continuously, giving market participants the ability to take positions at any time on a regulated exchange backed by central clearing and transparent pricing.

Tim McCourt, CME Group's Global Head of Equities, FX and Alternative Products, said the launch reflects growing demand for tools to manage financial risk tied to professional sports. He noted that fans, sponsors, broadcasters and vendors could all benefit from a regulated way to hedge their exposure to team performance.

Steve Byrd of FutureSports added that fan interest in the NHL remains strong, pointing to record sponsorship revenue of $1.53 billion and more than 23 million fans attending games last season — the highest attendance in league history.

The near-term marker is regulatory sign-off ahead of the planned September 28 debut. After launch, the question will be whether the commercial users CME cites — sponsors, broadcasters and vendors with revenue tied to team performance — adopt the contracts for hedging, and whether the FutureSports index model extends to additional leagues as CME broadens its sports-linked lineup.

Source: LeapRate