New revenue streams? Schools eye on-field corporate logos, jersey patches

It’s only been one week since approving the House v. NCAA case settlement, and already college sports leaders have identified potential new revenue streams that could help the industry grapple with a new financial reality.

Schools could be infused with new, much-needed sources of revenue stemming from on-field corporate logos and, potentially down the road, jersey patches, much like we’ve seen in some professional sports. 

Next week, the NCAA’s playing rules oversight committee is expected to consider a policy change that would allow schools to place a corporate logo in the middle of their football field.

“I believe the NCAA is going to allow us to put a sponsor logo on the field during the regular season,” Florida Athletic Director Scott Stricklin told reporters this week during SEC spring meetings. “That’s an obvious revenue stream that has not been there in the past. Pro sports are putting patches on jerseys. That doesn’t seem like something that is crazy for us to consider these days.”

Limited on-field corporate signage has traditionally been permitted only for entities that hold venue naming rights deals.

Jersey patches could be big business

But times are changing. 

SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey added, according to USA Today: “We’ve had jersey patches in bowl games. I would anticipate there’s going to be a continuing push [for new revenue streams]. And we’re going to have to come to some agreement in this new environment on where those limits exist.”

On the jersey patches front, which could face a more formidable path toward approval, the space can be big business for the most glamorous NBA franchises.

Less than two years ago, Rakuten was paying the Golden State Warriors more than $40 million per year to include their patch on the team’s jerseys, league sources told me at the time. The value of the deal, which was in a class by itself, had increased because Rakuten secured international marketing rights.

The NCAA Division I Manual says athletes’ uniforms and other apparel “shall bear only a single manufacturer’s or distributor’s normal label or trademark (regardless of the visibility of the label or trademark), not to exceed 2-1/4 square inches in area (rectangle, square, parallelogram) including any additional material (e.g., patch) surrounding the normal trademark or logo.”  

The guidebook even has a rule that applies if the uniform or apparel item carries “washing instructions on the outside of the apparel on a patch that also includes the manufacturer’s or distributor’s logo or trademark.”

NCAA schools focused on new financial world

At the collegiate level, the revenue may be more modest in comparison. But schools will eagerly welcome it – an entire industry is confronting a new financial model, one that could take hold as early as fall 2025.

As part of the House settlement terms, the NCAA and all 32 Division I conferences will pay some $2.8 billion in damages over a 10-year period. In addition, schools, at their discretion, will be able to share up to $22 million annually with athletes.

That salary cap will rise as revenue rises in the coming years. Steve Berman, co-lead counsel for the plaintiffs, told On3 that the figure will rise 4% each of the first three years, and it will continue to keep pace with increasing revenues.

Some power conference schools are already adjusting plans to align with a new financial world. Texas A&M recently cut more than 12 athletic department positions. And Iowa State pressed pause on a new wrestling facility. 

Christy Hedgpeth, president of Playfly Sports Properties, stressed to On3 that it’s more important than ever for schools to tap into new revenue streams and possess a more commercial mindset, thinking like a media company or entrepreneur. 

“We have just always had enough increasing revenue to overcome expenses,” Texas A&M Athletic Director Trev Alberts told reporters. “I’ve said it 100 times, and I’ll say it again: We don’t have a revenue problem in college athletics. We have an expense problem.”