As a new era of college football continues to blaze a new trail, jersey sponsorships could be next on the horizon. Last month, Yahoo! Sports reported that college football was expected to approve legislation that would allow college athletics uniforms to have sponsorship patches.
The legislation has yet to be officially passed, but LSU is staying ahead of the curve. Front Office Sports has reported that LSU has already inked a multimillion-dollar jersey sponsorship deal, even before it has been approved by the NCAA. LSU deputy AD and chief revenue officer Clay Harris stated that once approved, the new jersey patch will be on all LSU athletics uniforms for every sport.
LSU inks groundbreaking jersey sponsorship deal
Along with NIL and the transfer portal, adding jersey sponsorships would be a change that continues to bring in a new element to college sports that hasn't been seen before. Jersey sponsorship patches have become common in professional leagues such as the NBA, NHL, and MLB. They have yet to break through in college athletics, but that might not be the case for long
The current proposal from the Division I Administrative Committee would allow for one commercial logo to be placed on equipment used by college athletes. The proposal is still under review, and is expected to be voted on in January 2026. If approved, it would go into effect on August 1, 2026.
Harris did not reveal which company LSU has partnered with. But, he is confident that the proposal will be approved and that LSU's multimillion-dollar deal will rival the jersey sponsorship deals for some of the top pro teams. Those deals with professional teams can be tens of millions of dollars. It will be interesting to see if more athletic departments follow suit and ink jersey sponsorship deals ahead of the pending approval from the NCAA.