Less than two weeks before the start of its 2024 MLS season, D.C. United unveiled its new 2024 home jersey along with a new jersey sponsor that has local and federal ties.
Both organizations hope the new partnership will be a win and bring international acclaim for both brands.
Consulting firm Guidehouse based out of McLean, Virginia, signed a multiyear deal with the Black and Red to have its logo emblazoned in the club kits and training tops, including United’s new 2024 home jerseys. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.
As part of the deal, the consulting firm will also have the naming rights to the east sideline suite level at Audi Field, United’s home stadium in Southwest D.C.
President of Business Operation Danita Johnson told WTOP as the club explored new jersey sponsors, it was more than financial. With all the events United hosts a season, the club looked for an organization that would provide ‘global reach’ while aligning with a company with similar values of participating in the local community.
“We want to represent the world in a whole new way,” Johnson said. “We need to be with a partner that helps to do that, and we feel that Guidehouse is the right partner for us in that change.”
Who is Guidehouse?
The deal took several months to complete, but Guidehouse CEO Scott McIntyre told WTOP the partnership with United specifically was one the firm has been coveting for many years.
The firm, which provides “management, technology, and risk consulting” for businesses and government entities, has been rapidly growing in the last five years. Recently, private equity firm Bain Capital paid $5.3 billion dollars to buy Guidehouse from previous owners Veritas Capital.
Federal News Network reported that Guidehouse received $905 million in federal contracts in 2023 with the departments of Homeland Security, Health and Human Services and the Interior.
“We want to be with a brand and a team that looks after winning through teamwork and execution,” McIntyre said. “Those objectives align very neatly with those that we share, admittedly in a completely different field of play, but we wanted a brand that we could grow with and that would support the kind of messaging we want to give our people, to our clients and to the community at large.”
Despite its growing status as a company in the consulting space, McIntyre said Guidehouse is not a consumer brand. With United’s younger and growing fan base, Guidehouse will be able to grow its awareness locally to attract newer employees while attracting future clients, McIntryre said. As part of the deal, Guidehouse will be present in United’s camps, clinics and community events.
“There are going to be young people that will go to a D.C. United game or watch on Apple TV and see the Guidehouse brand and 20 years from now, they will be graduates from college and we hope that they’ll come to work at Guidehouse,” he said.
While Guidehouse moved its global headquarters to McLean, Virginia, in 2021, it has many offices and clients around the world. With soccer’s global appeal, United saw the partnership as a match for the club’s goal of increasing its blueprint worldwide, Johnson said.
“When we looked at this, and we saw that as a way for us to connect, and maybe service each other in different ways, I think it really helps to build each other up and build our brands together,” Johnson said.
United’s previous partnership with blockchain technology provider XDC Network, which began in 2022, was reported to be a three-year deal for $6 million per season. Johnson told WTOP the club had an option to continue with XDC after two years, but it chose to go a different direction that “fits where our organization was going.”
XDC did not response to WTOP’s request for a comment.
“From an on-the-pitch perspective, we’ve made a lot of changes. From an internal perspective, we’ve made a lot of changes from the business side, and we’ve evolved,” Johnson said. “And we want to be with an organization that’s ever changing and evolving.”
It is not the first time that United signed a company to a jersey rights deal with connections to the federal government. Defense technology firm Leidos held the rights to the front of United’s jerseys for eight seasons.
New year, new jersey
The announcement of United’s new jersey partner came as the club unveiled its new home jersey for the 2024-25 seasons.
The primarily black jersey features red stripes along with gray wavelike pattern all over and the Guidehouse logo present in the front. A small image of the Frederick Douglass Memorial Bridge is located on the horse collar of the jersey with the letting ‘United the District’ featured below.
Unite the District ⚫️🔴
D.C. United are proud to introduce our 2024 Primary Kit along with a new multi-year front-of-kit partnership with @Guidehouse, DMV-based global consultancy!
— D.C. United (@dcunited) February 15, 2024
McIntyre said Guidehouse staff nationwide will be supporting United, joking adding that he will be wearing the new jersey under his work clothes during on announcement day. .
“I think what’s really exciting for us in this and where the fans can see it is everywhere we go,” she said. “The beauty of this partnership is that we get to carry along the Guidehouse name with us on the road, in the stadium [and] our fans have the ability to carry it.”
Fans can purchase the new home jersey online on United’s Fanatics page. The first team will be wearing the new kit featuring its new sponsor during its home opener against the New England Revolution on Feb. 24.
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