The Pittsburgh Penguins are replacing their previous helmet sponsor with another longtime Pittsburgh brand. United States Steel Corporation will serve as the team's official helmet partner for the 2026-27 NHL season, with its logo appearing on home, road, alternate, and practice-day helmets.
The Penguins announced the agreement ahead of the season, with the team's official announcement carried on nhl.com. The U.S. Steel wordmark will appear in black, white, or gold depending on which uniform the Penguins are wearing. CBS News also reported on the partnership.
The deal replaces MSA Safety, which was the Penguins' only helmet sponsor during the previous season. MSA branding appeared on the team's road helmets, while the Penguins used their own logo on home helmets, their matte-black helmet, and their alternate uniform. U.S. Steel will now appear across the team's home, road, alternate, and practice helmets.
A Partnership With Roots Back to 2021
The Penguins have partnered with U.S. Steel since 2021, and the helmet agreement expands that relationship into player equipment. Penguins chairman and governor Geoff Hoffman called U.S. Steel “an iconic Pittsburgh brand” that shares “hard work, resiliency, dedication, and pride for Pittsburgh” with the team.
U.S. Steel president and chief executive officer David Burritt said the company views the arrangement as a continuation of its connection to Pittsburgh and the Penguins, describing the relationship as a way to place the company's name alongside the team.
Fans Will See the New Decals First at PPG Paints Arena
The new helmet decals will make their public debut when the Penguins host the Buffalo Sabres at PPG Paints Arena on September 21 for their first preseason game.
The MSA Safety arrangement had a multiyear history. According to the Penguins, MSA became the official road helmet partner beginning with the 2023-24 season, placing its logo on the team's white helmets for road games through the 2025-26 regular season and playoffs. The agreement grew out of MSA's relationship with the team, which began in 2016 through sponsorship of one of the Penguins' Zamboni ice-resurfacing machines. MSA branding also appeared on the dasher boards at PPG Paints Arena, and the branded helmet made its regular-season debut on October 13, 2023, when the Penguins played the Washington Capitals, according to a release carried by PR Newswire.
A Broader Pittsburgh Connection
The Penguins-U.S. Steel relationship has also included civic work beyond arena and player branding. According to the Pittsburgh Penguins, the company and team supported the $21 million capital campaign connected to the reopening of Braddock Carnegie Library, adding a community dimension to their partnership. Helmet advertising itself began as a COVID-era revenue initiative but did not end with that season. According to The Athletic, the NHL authorized teams in 2021 to continue selling helmet advertising, making the practice permanent.
Part of a League-Wide Sponsorship Wave
The Penguins are hardly alone in cashing in on helmet real estate. The NHL first allowed teams to sell helmet sponsorships during the shortened 2020-21 COVID season as a way to generate extra revenue, and the practice has since become nearly universal — 31 of the league's 32 teams carried at least one helmet sponsor during the 2025-26 season, according to zoomph.com. The site notes that helmet partners get outsized visibility because they are prominently shown in close shots and replays on broadcasts, as well as in social media content featuring players in uniform.
The move places the Penguins within the NHL's broader shift toward selling visible advertising space on players' equipment and uniforms.
