CME FutureSports Performance Indexes will underpin the world's first index-based hockey futures contracts offered by CME Group
CHICAGO, Aug. 4, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- FutureSports, the new independent index administrator transforming professional and college sports statistics into rules-based, benchmark financial indexes, and the National Hockey League (NHL), today announced an exclusive agreement providing FutureSports with official real-time NHL statistics that the company will use to create new broad-based CME FutureSports Performance Indexes (FSPI) tailored to NHL teams and players.
FutureSports Performance Indexes are benchmarks designed to systematically measure the cumulative performance of teams and athletes in prominent sports leagues. The play-by-play indexes that move throughout the course of each game within the upcoming season will provide hedging vehicles and new investment opportunities.
CME Group, the world's leading derivatives exchange, will be listing monthly and quarterly cash-settled futures contracts, pending regulatory review, based on the CME FSPI NHL benchmarks in time for the 2026-2027 season.
Rhett Dinsdale, FutureSports Co-Founder, said: "We've seen genuine enthusiasm from the partners who see the potential of these indexes and futures contracts in bringing significant new risk management and trading opportunities. We are incredibly honored that the NHL has entrusted FutureSports with the real-time statistics that will drive the hockey indexes as we work with CME Group to launch the new contracts."
Keith Wachtel, President, NHL Business, said: "Through this agreement with FutureSports, our official statistics will help power a new class of financial indexes and futures contracts that enable institutions and individuals to express a view on team and player performance in a transparent and disciplined way. We believe this collaboration represents an exciting step forward for the business of hockey and demonstrates the growing influence of sports data beyond traditional applications."
Utilizing the NHL's official statistics, FutureSports creates transparent rules-based methodologies based on continuous, play-by-play statistical values that will underpin the indexes and futures contracts.
The NHL, FutureSports and CME Group are committed to maintaining the highest standards of integrity, transparency and market confidence. FutureSports' indexes are administered using rules-based methodologies derived from official NHL statistics, helping ensure that index values are determined objectively and independently. The NHL has also established layered monitoring and other protections and collaborates closely with its partners and appropriate regulatory stakeholders to support the integrity of both the game and related financial products. The NHL supplies the underlying statistics but is not involved in the determination, calculation or governance of the indexes.
Potential participants who may want to use the contracts to hedge include third-party vendors, sponsors and endorsers, insurers, and sports apparel manufacturers. Asset managers, pension funds and professional trading firms are expected to participate in the contracts and contribute to liquidity in this new uncorrelated asset class. Individual investors will also be able to participate in the first-of-their-kind trading vehicles.
About NHL
The National Hockey League (NHL), founded in 1917, consists of 32 Member Clubs. Each team roster reflects the League's international makeup with Players from more than 20 countries represented, all vying for the most cherished and historic trophy in professional sports – the Stanley Cup. Every year, the NHL entertains more than 670 million fans in-arena and through its partners on national television and radio; more than 191 million followers - League, team and Player accounts combined - across Facebook, X, Instagram, Snapchat, TikTok, and YouTube; and more than 100 million fans online at NHL.com. The League broadcasts games in more than 250 countries and territories through its rightsholders including ESPN, TNT Sports and NHL Network in the U.S.; Prime Video, Sportsnet and TVA Sports in Canada; and via SiriusXM NHL Network Radio™, Sports USA and TuneIn; and reaches fans worldwide with games available to stream in nearly 200 countries and territories (listed here) via NHL.TV on DAZN.
Fans are engaged across the League's digital assets on mobile devices via the free NHL App; across nine social media platforms; on SiriusXM NHL Network Radio™; and on NHL.com, available in eight languages and featuring unprecedented access to Player and team statistics as well as every regular-season and playoff game box score dating back to the League's inception. NHL Productions develops compelling original programming featuring unprecedented access to Players, coaches and League and team personnel for distribution across the NHL's social and digital platforms.
The NHL is committed to building healthy and vibrant communities using hockey to celebrate fans of every race, color, religion, national origin, gender identity, age, sexual orientation, and socio-economic status. The NHL's social impact platform, NHL Unites, reinforces that the official policy of the sport is one of inclusion on the ice, in locker rooms, boardrooms and stands. For more information, visit NHL.com.
About FutureSports
Under development since 2022 and launched in 2026, Chicago-based FutureSports has created a proprietary index methodology for measuring on-field, on-ice and on-court performance for a range of professional sporting teams and athletes. Partnering with many of the most recognizable sports leagues and financial market participants, FutureSports transforms live, play-by-play statistical data into rules-based, benchmark indexes that may be referenced by exchange-listed financial products. The indexes are designed to serve the same benchmarking function as the leading equity, commodity and fixed income indexes utilized every day across major global exchanges to track performance and hedge risk in the financial markets. FutureSports administers the indexes independently, with formal governance, oversight and methodology change procedures designed to align with the International Organization of Securities Commissions (IOSCO) Principles for Financial Benchmarks. For more information, visit www.futuresports.com.
SOURCE FutureSports; The National Hockey League (NHL)
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