Washington Capitals
- Caesars Sportsbook logo to feature on Capitals’ home and third jerseys for games at Capital One Arena
- Team set to announce a patch sponsor for away fixtures at a later date
- NHL approved plan for clubs to sell 3-by-3.5 inch patch back in August
The Washington Capitals have become the first National Hockey League (NHL) team to secure a jersey patch sponsor by signing a multi-year deal with casino company Caesars Entertainment.
The agreement with team owner Monumental Sports & Entertainment (MSE) will see the Caesars Sportsbook logo feature on the Capitals’ home and third jerseys worn during games at their Capital One Arena starting from the 2022/23 season.
Financial terms of the deal were not made public, but Sportico reports that the Capitals will receive US$6 million a year from Caesars.
The jersey patch agreement deepens ties between MSE and Caesars following the May opening of the Caesars Sportsbook inside Capital One Arena, which made the 18,573-seater venue the first US professional sports facility to house a sports betting space.
The new deal will also see Caesars put its name to a hospitality space and VIP seating at Capital One Arena.
“Together as two industry leaders, we’ve built a robust partnership in the gaming and casino space, and our overall relationship reflects our shared commitment to providing sports fans with world-class, unique experiences,” said Jim Van Stone, MSE’s president of business operations and chief commercial officer.
“MSE, the Capitals and Caesars share a commitment and passion toward innovation in the sports and entertainment space, and the opportunity to incorporate Caesars onto Capitals home jerseys is a wonderful development and exciting new fan engagement opportunity for both organizations in the nation’s capital.”
The partnership comes after the NHL approved a plan in August for its teams to sell a 3-by-3.5 inch rectangular patch to brands, opening up the jersey inventory for the first time.
Teams are able to have both a home and away jersey patch sponsor, the latter of which will be announced by the Capitals at a later date.
The jersey patch space is the latest piece of sponsorship inventory to be made available by the NHL, which last season allowed its teams to have helmet sponsors for the first time.
