A roller hockey league can launch a custom apparel shop through Bear Grips Pro Shops with no inventory, no upfront cost, and no minimum order. Set up the shop with team jerseys, hoodies, and shorts in the league colors, and start earning $10 or more per item every time a player or fan orders. Bear Grips handles printing, packing, and free shipping. The league keeps the margin. Here is the full setup guide, what plan makes sense for different league sizes, and how much a roller hockey league typically earns from a well-run apparel shop.
Roller hockey leagues have a structural advantage when it comes to custom apparel: a captive audience of players and fans who already identify with the program. Players buy team jerseys because they need them to play. Fans buy hoodies because they want to show support. The purchase motivation exists without the league having to create it.
The traditional approach to team gear (the coach orders 24 jerseys from a screen printer, distributes them, chases down money) is inefficient and creates operational headaches. A Pro Shop removes all of that:
A roller hockey league with 60 players across four teams and a $12 average margin per item, at a 65% purchase rate buying two items each season, earns approximately $936 per season in passive apparel revenue. That number grows with the league size and active promotion.
Bear Grips Pro Shops offers three plan levels. For roller hockey leagues, the choice typically comes down to league size and how much management time the organizer wants to invest.
Free Plan ($0/month): Up to three live products. Higher base prices, which limits the margin the league can earn while staying price-competitive with what players expect to pay for team gear. Good for a small recreational team (10-15 players) that wants to test the model before committing. Three products (jersey, shorts, hoodie) is a viable starting lineup at no monthly cost.
Self-Service VIP ($59/month): Up to 200 live products and lower base prices. The right plan for an active league with 30+ players across multiple teams. Lower base prices mean more room to earn a wider margin without pricing above what players expect to pay for team gear. The $59/month is recovered after 6 jersey or hoodie sales per month.
Done-For-You VIP ($109/month): Full white-glove service. A Bear Grips Pro Shops advisor handles product selection, mockup creation, shop layout, pricing, and monthly product updates. The league organizer sends a logo once and receives a fully live shop with professional product pages. For league commissioners who are already managing schedules, rosters, rink bookings, and referee assignments, removing apparel management entirely is worth the additional cost.
Bear Grips Pro Shops: Custom Apparel for Your Team. No Minimums. Free Shipping.A roller hockey league with multiple teams can structure the Pro Shops setup in two ways: a single league-wide shop or individual team shops.
Single league-wide shop: All teams order from one store. Products are organized by team color or team name within the shop. Players filter to their team's products and order. The league commissioner manages one shop and earns the margin on all sales across all teams. Simpler to manage, less personalized per team.
Individual team shops: Each team captain sets up their own Pro Shop for their team. The league commissioner facilitates the setup by referring each captain to the platform (and earning affiliate commissions on each captain's paid plan subscription). Each captain manages their own shop and earns their team's margin. More personalized per team, less central control.
The most common structure for organized recreational leagues is the individual team shop model. Each captain has ownership of their team's gear ordering, which removes the league commissioner from the distribution logistics. The commissioner earns affiliate commissions by referring captains to the platform.
For a 6-team league where each captain subscribes to the Self-Service VIP plan ($59/month), the commissioner's affiliate commissions are $35.40/month ($424/year) in passive income just from facilitating the setup. The commissions continue for as long as the team captains maintain their subscriptions.
Here is what a roller hockey league apparel shop earns at different configurations:
| League Size | Purchase Rate | Items/Player | Avg Margin | Annual Revenue |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 20 players (2 teams) | 60% | 2.0 | $11 | $264 |
| 40 players (4 teams) | 65% | 2.5 | $11 | $715 |
| 80 players (6 teams) | 70% | 3.0 | $12 | $2,016 |
| 150 players (10 teams) | 70% | 3.0 | $12 | $3,780 |
The purchase rate jumps significantly when the shop is introduced at registration as "the official place to get league gear" rather than as an optional store link shared at the end of the season. Leagues that include the shop link in the registration confirmation email see 15-25% higher purchase rates than leagues that introduce it mid-season.
Fan purchases (spectators, family members, fans who want to show support) add a second revenue layer on top of player purchases. For established leagues with a strong social following, fan gear can account for 20-30% of total shop revenue with zero additional product cost, since the same jerseys and hoodies serve both player and fan purchases.
The most successful roller hockey league Pro Shops share a few consistent traits. Here is the product and promotion pattern that generates the highest revenue per player:
Three-product core lineup: Performance tee (the jersey), athletic shorts (the game shorts), and pullover hoodie (the warm-up/fan piece). This trio generates the highest per-transaction revenue because players who buy all three items generate $32-$36 in margin per transaction versus $10-$11 for a tee-only purchase.
League branding separate from team branding: A league-level hoodie ("Riverside Roller Hockey League" rather than any single team name) sells to every player, fan, and referee in the league. A team-specific jersey sells only to that team. Leagues that offer both the league-branded pieces and the team-specific pieces run higher total revenue.
Promoted at three touchpoints: Registration confirmation, first league newsletter of the season, and coach team kickoff message. Each touchpoint catches a different segment of the player base at the moment they are most engaged with the league. Three exposures to the shop link converts more players than a single announcement.
For the revenue math at different league sizes, see the roller hockey merch revenue guide. For the specific jersey and uniform products to include, start with the custom roller hockey jerseys guide and the roller hockey team uniforms guide.
No inventory, no upfront cost. Set up your league shop in 20 minutes and start earning on every jersey and hoodie your players order.
Start FreeNo. Bear Grips Pro Shops handles all printing, packing, and shipping. The league sets up the shop and earns the margin on every sale without managing any physical inventory. Gear ships from US print facilities directly to the player or fan.
The Self-Service VIP plan ($59/month) is the right choice for a 40-player league. Lower base prices allow a competitive retail price with a $10-$12 margin per item. At a 65% purchase rate buying 2.5 items per player, the $59/month plan cost is recovered in the first 2-3 weeks of the season.
Yes. Every Bear Grips Pro Shops vendor receives an affiliate link at signup. A commissioner who refers six team captains to the platform and each subscribes to the VIP plan earns $35.40/month in affiliate commissions, paid bi-weekly.
Yes. Each team captain can set up their own Pro Shop with their team's colors and logo. The league commissioner facilitates the setup by sharing the platform referral link and earns affiliate commissions on each captain's paid plan.
Bear Grips Pro Shops