The video-sharing social media app TikTok will sponsor the Washington Capitals road jerseys throughout the 2024-25 NHL season, the franchise announced Monday. A TikTok logo will appear on the upper right of the white away sweaters, opposite the team’s commemorative 50th anniversary patch.
The jersey patches are part of a larger agreement between TikTok and Monumental Sports and Entertainment — the company that owns the NHL’s Capitals, the NBA’s Wizards and the WNBA’s Mystics.
“TikTok empowers our fans to share their passion for the Caps and all our teams in their own unique ways,” Jim Van Stone, Monumental’s chief commercial officer, said in a statement. “We are excited by the opportunity the partnership provides to continue to grow the game, showcase our players’ personalities and innovatively engage with the TikTok community through content creation.”
Under the new partnership, TikTok became the title sponsor of the Capitals’ 50th anniversary season initiative, which includes themed games and events throughout the NHL campaign.
The TikTok deal will continue through the 2026-27 season, team officials said.
While Monumental’s brass stressed the value of TikTok as a sponsor — the app has more than 1 billion users and is the social media of choice for many young people — many fans remained skeptical. TikTok is owned by Chinese company ByteDance, but U.S. security officials have warned that foreign governments could use the site to influence or spy on Americans.
“Yikes, guys,” self-described Capitals fan Curtis Houck wrote on X. “Selling out to [China].”
The TikTok patches will debut during the Capitals’ preseason matchup with the Boston Bruins on Sept. 24.
• Liam Griffin can be reached at lgriffin@washingtontimes.com.
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