NHL and FutureSports Launch First-Ever Hockey Index Futures with CME Group

By Lauren Towner · 4 August 2026

In brief: FutureSports and the NHL have partnered to launch the first-ever hockey index futures on CME Group, allowing investors to trade contracts based on real-time team and player performance statistics.

Key facts
Launch Season	2026-2027
Exchange Partner	CME Group
Contract Type	Monthly and quarterly cash-settled futures
Compliance Standard	IOSCO Principles for Financial Benchmarks

Press Release: NHL and FutureSports Launch First-Ever Hockey Index Futures with CME Group | Featured Image by FF News

Quick Summary

FutureSports and the NHL have launched an exclusive partnership to create hockey index futures. By transforming real-time NHL statistics into rules-based benchmark financial indexes, the collaboration enables CME Group to list the world's first index-based hockey futures contracts for the 2026-2027 season, offering new risk management tools.

How Do Hockey Index Futures Work for Investors?

Hockey index futures function by converting play-by-play NHL statistics into tradable financial benchmarks. FutureSports utilizes official real-time data to build the CME FutureSports Performance Indexes (FSPI), which track the cumulative performance of teams and individual athletes. These indexes fluctuate throughout the season, providing a transparent methodology for market participants to hedge against performance-related risks.

Real-time data integration from every NHL game.
Rules-based benchmarks aligned with IOSCO principles.
Cash-settled contracts listed on the CME Group exchange.

What Business Problems Does This Partnership Solve?

This initiative addresses the need for uncorrelated asset classes in the derivatives market. For sports-adjacent businesses like apparel manufacturers and insurance providers, these contracts offer a way to hedge financial exposure tied to team success or player health. Institutional investors, including pension funds and asset managers, can now access sports performance as a legitimate investment vehicle with high liquidity potential.

Hedging opportunities for sponsors and endorsers.
New liquidity for professional trading firms.
Integrity monitoring to ensure market confidence.

Who Can Participate in the New Hockey Market?

The ecosystem is designed for a broad range of participants, from institutional giants to individual retail investors. By listing on CME Group, the world's leading derivatives exchange, the hockey index futures gain immediate credibility and infrastructure support. The 2026-2027 season rollout will allow participants to take positions on monthly and quarterly contracts, creating a sophisticated secondary market for sports data.

FF NEWS TAKE:

This announcement represents a massive leap in the securitization of sports data. By moving beyond betting and into regulated derivatives, FutureSports and the NHL are effectively turning athletic performance into a commodity class. This moves the needle for fintech by bridging the gap between sports analytics and institutional finance, potentially setting a blueprint for every major global sports league to follow.

Frequently asked questions

What are hockey index futures?

Hockey index futures are financial derivatives that allow investors to trade based on the performance of NHL teams and players. These contracts are underpinned by the CME FutureSports Performance Indexes, which use real-time, play-by-play statistics to create rules-based benchmarks for the 2026-2027 season.

Where will the NHL index futures be traded?

The NHL index futures will be listed on CME Group, the world's leading derivatives exchange. The contracts will be cash-settled on a monthly and quarterly basis, providing a regulated environment for both institutional and individual traders to access this new asset class.

Who can use sports performance indexes for hedging?

A variety of businesses can use these indexes to manage risk, including sports apparel manufacturers, insurers, sponsors, and endorsers whose financial outcomes are tied to team or player success. By taking positions in hockey index futures, they can offset potential losses related to on-ice performance.