Feature image above: Arkansas’ jersey patch deal with Tyson Foods places it at the cutting edge of such sponsorship deals. (Photos provided by Arkansas Athletics)
The University of Arkansas in Fayetteville is one of three Power 4 schools — so far — to take advantage of a new NCAA rule that allows member schools to sell sponsorship patches on uniforms.
Beginning with the 2026-2027 academic year, all Razorback teams, both men’s and women’s, will sport the corporate logo of Tyson Foods on their uniforms. Tyson has long been a Razorback fixture through its support of the university and athletics department, and its logo — alongside Walmart’s — has adorned the court at Bud Walton Arena and the grass at Razorback Stadium for several years now.
Prior to the jersey deal, the Tyson logo was placed on the hardwood of Bud Walton Arena, above, and the gridiron of Razorback Stadium.
The partnership, announced earlier this year for an undisclosed sum, is multiyear for all 19 UA sports. The deal was completed in collaboration with Learfield, the UA’s media rights partner. The value of the deals will likely vary greatly depending on the strength of a schools’ brand, but some in the industry have estimated that certain schools could earn as much as $12 million per year.
Though Tyson and its leadership have long been supporters of Razorback athletics, it was not until current Tyson chair John H. Tyson ponied up to bring his friend, hall-of-fame coach John Calipari, to Fayetteville from Kentucky that Hog fans really started to do the potential math.
John Tyson
“Tyson Foods has been proud to support the Arkansas Razorbacks for generations —investing in champions today and leaders for tomorrow in the state we’ve called home for more than 90 years,” Tyson said in the statement announcing the partnership. “Together, we support young people to compete and succeed — on the field, in the classroom and beyond.”
The deal stretches beyond jersey patches to what the university called a “comprehensive set of brand assets”:
• Tyson will be recognized as the “official protein of the Arkansas Razorbacks.”
• Logo placement will apply to fields and courts across all sports venues.
• The Tyson logo will become a permanent fixture on media backdrops at Razorback press conferences and broadcast facilities.
• Tyson will be a part of brand-ambassador programs engaging Arkansas student-athletes.
When it was announced, Hunter Yurachek, vice chancellor and director of athletics, called the deal historic and transformative for Razorback sports.
Hunter Yurachek
“For decades, Tyson Foods has been more than a corporate partner — they are an integral part of the Arkansas story,” he said. “Having Tyson Foods incorporated across our varsity teams and venues sends a powerful message about the caliber of our programs and the type of talent we can bring to the university. We are grateful for our continued partnership and thrilled to showcase this collaboration to the nation every time our teams compete.”
In addition to Arkansas, other Power 4 schools to formally announce jersey patch deals include Louisiana State University and the University of Wisconsin-Madison. LSU’s deal with Woodside Energy mirrors Arkansas’ — it is multiyear and entails all sports. Wisconsin’s deal with UW Health applies only to four women’s sports — basketball, volleyball, softball and hockey.
Arkansas is one of three Power 4 schools to have signed a jersey patch deal. (Graph courtesy of Extra Points)
All told, 12 Division I programs have announced jersey patch deals. Memphis will sport FedEx patches on all uniforms across all sports moving forward, and USAA patches will now be seen on all Air Force uniforms. Otherwise, the sponsorships are sport specific, and several are hyperlocal:
- University of Louisiana at Monroe football jerseys will have patches from Samaritan’s Purse, a Christian relief organization.
- University of Nebraska at Omaha hockey sweaters will hawk for Control Services, a local security company.
- New Mexico State University’s deal with the nearby Inn of the Mountain Gods will run for three years and pay the Aggies $1.05 million; impacted sports are football, men’s and women’s basketball, baseball, volleyball, and softball.
- The University of Nevada, Las Vegas’ five-year deal with hometown regenerative medicine firm Acesso Biologics is for football, men’s and women’s basketball, and baseball.
- University of South Florida football will sport Tampa General Hospital patches.
- The University of Wyoming’s five-year, $4.5 million deal with Denver-based energy solutions provider Tallgrass impacts football, in addition to men’s and women’s basketball.
- Marshall University in West Virginia’s five-year deal with Marshall Health Network will place patches on jerseys across all sports.
Many in the sports business field see growing potential for sponsorship patches in college sports. College sports resonate with American fans, especially in the South and Midwest, in a way rivaled perhaps only by World Cup soccer.
Tyson CEO Donnie King recognized as much when he said the jersey patch deal enables the company “to connect” with fans.
Donnie King
In Arkansas, community often begins and ends with the Hogs.
“This partnership strengthens our ability to connect with the next generation of consumers through sports, community and protein that fuels performance,” he said. “It reflects how we are positioned to meet growing protein demand through a portfolio that tastes great, is nutritious, convenient and affordable.”
The NAIA has allowed teams to strike jersey patch deals since 2024. Matt Brown, trending national sports-business guru and creator of the Extra Points newsletter and sports-data library, said he believes the NCAA’s “megabrands” will begin expressing more interest in such deals as schools scramble to find new revenue streams to pay for the best players. Under new rules related to NIL, NCAA Division 1 schools can spend up to $20.5 million on revenue sharing for players.
Matt Brown
Earlier this year, Brown spoke with Ray Katz, president of Collegiate Sports Management Group, and Keith Miller, vice president of Influxer, which specializes in co-branded name-image-likeness merchandise. They both agreed that jersey patches will be more meaningful in college sports than they have been in pro sports.
“There are some constants. Both Katz and Miller told me an athletic department’s visibility on television and streaming is a very important factor in determining how valuable a jersey patch might be,” Brown said, “but it isn’t just a matter of being on television more often; it’s about where a team’s games are visible and who might be watching.”
Brown said Katz told him that the rule allowing patches is groundbreaking because a college sponsor is not just paying for a “transactional chunk of real estate on a uniform.” Katz told Brown that college sponsors are buying into the prestige and brands of the schools.
“That’s not the same thing as buying a patch on a Celtics jersey,” he said.
Razorback athletes shown modeling their Tyson-sponored jerseys include Billy Richmond III, men’s basketball;
Ella McDowell, softball; Quincy Rhodes Jr., football, and Sanu Jallow-Lockhart, women’s track and field.
Jerseys in all Arkansas sports will sport the Tyson logo beginning this fall.
Katz also told Brown that college deals will be different because not all schools are the same — the college deals are more partnership than one-off sponsorship.
“You can’t just buy a patch, do nothing else and expect to be successful,” he told Brown.
Earlier this year, Sports Business Journal reported that college football and basketball teams could expect to make anywhere between $500,000 and $12 million for allowing corporate branding on their uniforms. Some NBA teams make eight figures from corporate jersey patches, ESPN reported.
Editor’s note: Just as the July issue went to press, the Big XII signed a deal with Monster Energy in which all league teams will sport Monster patches on their jerseys in all sports.
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