Ohio State lands a record jersey patch deal

When college football season begins, the complaints will follow. And they’ll be loud.

More and more major programs are putting ads on their uniforms.

Ohio State, via Sports Business Journal, has landed a record deal with JPMorgan Chase. In exchange for putting the Chase brand on the jerseys of the 36 Ohio State sports programs, the school will get more than $15 million per year.

Per SBJ, that’s more than twice some of the highest-paying deals. By way of comparison, Monster is paying $20 million annually to the entire Big 12 conference.

The folks at SBJ have a database of the current jersey deals. It’s a growing list. When fans start seeing them during college football games, there will be huffing and puffing. But no one will be boycotting the house down.

Which makes it just a matter of time before the NFL embraces the reality of significant revenue for sewing a patch onto a shirt.