Pittsburgh Penguins star--and reigning NHL MVP--Sidney Crosby is expanding his long-term, multimillion-dollar endorsement contract with RbK to include sticks.

For the past four years, including his first two NHL seasons, Crosby has used Sher-Wood brand sticks under an endorsement contract the Pittsburgh Penguins star signed with the Sherbooke, Que.-based company when he was just 16 years old.

That deal, which pays Crosby a reported C$150,000 per year, expired on Sept. 1, and Crosby has expanded his RbK deal to include sticks. 

This new deal is an extension of an existing contract between RbK and Crosby, signed in 2005 and paying him a reported US$500,000 per year. It was to be a head-to-toe arrangement making Crosby RbK’s signature athlete to help launch the brand into hockey by wearing RbK skates, gloves, helmets and protective equipment. But thanks to the pre-existing Sher-Wood deal, the RbK-Crosby arrangement could not include sticks-a key performance tool for hockey players, and the hottest equipment category in the sport in years.

These developments come at a good time for Crosby, following a breakout season in 2006-07. He claimed the Hart Memorial Trophy as the NHL’s most valuable player, and the Lester B. Pearson Award as league MVP as voted by the players.

The RbK deal effectively means the NHL’s top scorer, with 36 goals and 84 assists for 120 points last season to win the Art Ross Trophy last season, has traded in the very tool that helped him achieve such milestones.

RbK has developed a new version of its 9K stick for Crosby with Penguins colors. Crosby is using a shaft with a replacement blade, but consumers will be able to buy a one-piece version of the stick, likely in early 2008.

Crosby began the changeover in training camp.

The move is a big change for Sher-Wood, formerly a powerhouse in wooden sticks which has seen its market share slide over the last seven years or so since the introduction of one-piece composite sticks. Crosby had been using the company’s Momentum composite model.

Without the Crosby endorsement contract to pay for, Sher-Wood has been able to spread its marketing budget around to more players in the NHL, and the brand can already be seen in the hands of more players, particularly goalies.

For RbK, having Crosby use its sticks is expect to help the brand gain some important momentum in the battle for the hockey stick market. Though RbK and sister brand CCM are prominent names in hockey, the top player in sticks is Easton, which claims to have slightly less than 50% of NHL players using its product, with similar popularity in the consumer market.