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D.C. United announce multiyear sponsorship deal with Leidos

D.C.UnitedLeidosSponsor2014 (DCUnited)

By MITCHELL NORTHAM

D.C. United announced on Monday that Leidos, a national security, health, and engineering solutions company, will become the official sponsor for the club.

The details of the deal between the MLS club and Leidos have not been completely revealed, but the agreement between the two sides is for multiple years and Leidos will be the official jersey sponsor for the Black and Red.

Leidos’ logo will be featured on the front of the team’s jersey (pictured above), displayed throughout the stadium, and also on all of the team’s marketing and media properties. The club used former sponsor Volkswagen in much the same way.

Volkswagen’s contract with the club expired in December, opening the door for a company like Leidos to secure sponsorship rights. Volkswagen paid D.C. United $2.8 million for the first five years of their agreement and Leidos has said that the deal is comparable to that.

“Soccer is a growing, global sport and we are a growing company with our eyes on the future. This sponsorship will help enable us to get exposure not only locally, but throughout the country and internationally,” said Leidos chief executive officer John Jumper.

As promotional video and samples of home and away jersey kits for D.C. United can be found on the Leidos website. The primary kit features an all white logo on a black jersey, while the secondary kit features an all black logo on a white jersey. Both uniforms conform to the club’s traditional black, white and red color scheme.

For fans, jerseys featuring the new logo will be on sale at the team store and online on March 8, the same day as D.C. United’s home opener versus Columbus Crew. Fans that have already purchased a jersey for this season can bring it to the team store at RFK Stadium and have a Leidos logo added to it for free.

The deal with Leidos is unrelated to naming rights of D.C. United’s proposed stadium at Buzzard Point.

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What do you think of this news? Do you like this deal? How do you think this sponsorship impacts future D.C. United signings?

Share your thoughts below.

Comments

  1. Fans that have already purchased a jersey for this season can bring it to the team store at RFK Stadium and have a Leidos logo added to it for free.”

    Ummm…that’s why I drove to the team store — to buy a clean jersey that wouldn’t have that sponsor. It’s gonna be a few years. Then again, I felt the same about VW and I did eventually get some VW jerseys.

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  2. You make it sound like DC United turned down other more lucrative offers from these companies… I would guess that they accepted this offer because it was the best they could do.

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  3. I don’t get most MLS jersey sponsors… I have nothing against Leidos, in fact I’ve never even heard of them and I work in IT, but I would think MLS teams would want sponsors that are attractive, household names. Seattle and Chicago get it but what casual or under 21 soccer fan wants to wear a jersey in public promoting an “engineering solutions company” or a MLM herbal/holistic vendor, or a local utility or healthcare company? Boring! And $2.8M is petty cash for a lot of companies that would fit well – they spend more on one night of prime time TV commercials than these jersey deals.

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    • Leidos is a spinoff of SAIC. They are new, which is one reason why they bought the sponsorship. For them, they get visibility to a market from which they recruit heavily (young college graduates) and gives them some community roots.

      As for the other sponsors, it’s a solid lineup: Glidden, BMO, Bell, Corona, Alaska Airlines, Bimbo, Red Bull, Quaker Oats, XBox (Microsoft), Amway, United Healthcare and Herbalife are all major corporate players. If you don’t know about them, I suggest doing a little research. Advocare and Xango are smaller MLM companies, but I would rather have them than some gambling site like BWin or Bet365.

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    • I dunno, I see an awful lot of people wearing jerseys that advertise an international reinsurer, a middle eastern airline, German chemical company, a British financial services company, a South Korean tech company, an Italian tire company, etc. I don’t think anyone really cares.

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  4. Is dc planning a 2016 or 2015 stadium opening or 2017. It will be sad if LA2, nycfc, Miami get a stadium first. Then u have revolution, that I have no faith in since their owner sucks and that gets me to,who will garber buy out next, revolution ? 🙂

    By the way, why doesn’t MLS teams ever get Pepsi , coca cola, HP, wal mart, Apple, Microsoft, ford, bing, google, McDonald’s, target, as kit sponsors. It would be nice for the league, since nfl, nba, mlb will use it sooner than later.

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    • I’m sure it’s not for lack of trying. But seriously, the jersey sponsorship is so cheap (for th ebig companies) I’m surprised they’re not jumping on board. Nothing to lose, and a really big upside, I’d think.

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    • DC United’s last deal was with Volkswagen one of the largest companies in the world. Other teams do have deals with other huge companies that you mention by name. Quaker Oats (Chicago) is owned by Pepsi and XBOX (Seattle) is Microsoft product.

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  5. Hopefully this means we can use their defence contacts to shore up the back line. Too bad we don’t have Lockheed as a sponsor, then we could have a joint strike force.

    Reply

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