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Taylor Hall, Tyler Seguin sign big endorsement deals before playing a single NHL game

2010 NHL Top Prospects Media Availability

NHL top prospects before Game Four of the 2010 NHL Stanley Cup Final at Wachovia Center on June 4, 2010 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Jim McIsaac

They might not receive a $100 million endorsement deal before playing a single pro game like Lebron James did, but regardless of which player goes No. 1 Friday, Taylor Hall and Tyler Seguin both landed deals with big hockey equipment companies. TSN has the story.

Bauer Hockey and Easton Hockey both say they got their man, as the equipment companies signed the players to head-to-toe endorsement contracts - Seguin with Bauer and Hall with Easton.

Seguin has agreed to wear Bauer equipment on-ice beginning with the 2010-11 NHL season, and will work with the company’s development team to contribute to future product direction. He will also be featured in Bauer’s global marketing efforts, joining the likes of Patrick Kane, Steven Stamkos and Eric Staal.

Hall has commited to Easton under a similar arrangement to wear and market Easton gear and participate in the brand’s global marketing campaign, “Confidence is Everything.” Hall will also be involved in the development of future equipment designs, the company says. Easton’s other signature endorsees include Marian Gaborik, Henrik Zetterberg and Mike Cammalleri.

Terms of the deals were not disclosed, but both are believed to be multi-year, six-figure agreements.

The Hall-Seguin debate will go on far beyond draft day, but either way the two stand to face quite a bit of pressure. One will be in the tough spot of being the new savior for the struggling Edmonton Oilers franchise while the second pick will play in big market Boston.

I can’t say I have a problem with the two signing big endorsement deals, though. The NHL has a wise - but not particularly capitalistic - setup that puts a ceiling on what a rookie can make in the first three years of an entry-level deal. When you consider the already ballooning salaries (even with guys just on their second deals; see: Crosby, Ovechkin, Malkin, etc.), it’s nice that owners can protect themselves from their own extravagances in at least one area. So, really, the two rookies-to-be have every reason to make money off the ice, too.

The question is: will they be good enough to make kids want to buy their gear? We’ll find out beginning in October (unless, somehow, they fail to make their NHL teams).