TikTok will sponsor the road jersey patch for the Capitals.
The video-sharing platform will also be the title sponsor of the Capitals’ 50th anniversary celebration.
Monumental Sports & Entertainment and TikTok on Monday announced a partnership that makes the video-sharing social media platform the Washington Capitals’ road jersey patch sponsor.
The road jersey sponsorship is the foundational piece of TikTok’s multiyear deal, but the partnership extends to Monumental Sports & Entertainment’s other properties, including the Wizards, Mystics, Capital City Go-Go and Wizards District Gaming. TikTok will also be the title sponsor of the Capitals’ 50th anniversary celebration.
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TikTok will serve as the presenting sponsor of Capitals road games on Monumental Sports Network and of the “Road to Success” feature on the Capitals Radio Network during regular season road games. Fans can expect TikTok signage at Capital One Arena and in-game segments featuring content created by the Capitals and their fans on the platform.
In 2019, the Capitals became one of the first NHL teams to join TikTok, which the company says has more than 1 billion active users across the world, including 150 million in the United States. With more than 378,000 followers, the Capitals are the eighth-most followed NHL team on the platform. While the Capitals still have more followers on X (formerly Twitter) and Instagram, TikTok is their fastest-growing platform, according to James Heuser, the team’s vice president of digital media.
Heuser and his team use a group chat to brainstorm ideas for videos throughout the year. The Capitals’ TikTok account occasionally features game highlights or videos of players mic’d up in practice, but it more often features quirky behind-the-scenes content or players participating in trending memes. One of the Capitals’ most-viewed TikTok videos features Alex Ovechkin going in search of gum before taking the ice — and John Carlson doing a spot-on Ovechkin impression.
The road jersey patch, which the Capitals will debut in their preseason road opener against the Boston Bruins on Sept. 24, and related activations could help more fans discover the team’s TikTok account.
“We’ve been on there and really bullish about having a great strategy to connect with fans,” Heuser said. “This will only increase our connectivity there. We’re having such a great time on the platform, and I think a lot of our fans are, too. … It’s a platform that requires extra effort. On [X and Instagram], we’ve figured out what works and doesn’t work. On TikTok, the audience is looking for something a little bit different and they’re not fooled by your traditional content offerings.”
The Capitals were the first NHL team to announce its home jersey patch sponsor, Caesars Sportsbook, after the NHL’s board of governors approved advertisements on game jerseys beginning in the 2022-23 season. The team has worn a 3-inch-by-3 ½-inch Caesars Sportsbook patch on the upper right chest of its home and third jerseys for the past two seasons, and that arrangement will continue in 2024-25. Last October, the Pittsburgh Penguins became the first NHL team to secure two different sponsors for its home and road jerseys.
