For Penn State Football, the Jersey Patch Is Coming Soon

Athletic Director Pat Kraft said Penn State is conducting a "deep evaluation" of adding corporate patches to Nittany Lions jerseys.

Penn State Athletic Director Pat Kraft speaks as Matt Campbell is announced as the Nittany Lions new head football coach during a press conference at Beaver Stadium. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

CHICAGO | The jersey patch is coming to Penn State football. It's a matter of time and due diligence to identify the right partner, but the Nittany Lions will wear a corporate logo on their uniforms soon, if not this season.

Penn State Athletic Director Pat Kraft said he's conducting a "deep evaluation" on the market for a patch partner, which is growing more lucrative by the week. Several Big Ten programs recently signed marketing deals, most notably Ohio State, which on Tuesday announced a partnership with JPMorganChase worth nearly $17 million per year. Illinois and Wisconsin also announced recently patch partnerships.

The Ohio State deal is expected to reset the market for such corporate partnerships, which Penn State seeks to follow.

"We are exploring it all, " Kraft said Tuesday at Big Ten Football Media Days. "We’re doing our due diligence on what the real value is. Ovbiously I believe our jerseys are the most iconic in all of sport. But this is the new reality. We have to find other avenues to generate more revenue, and this is a very, very valuable asset. But we have to move cautiously in that space."

Kraft said he's aware of the connection Penn State football fans have with the program's uniforms, noting that adidas made no changes the program's jerseys. Penn State said that 10-year deal, worth about $300 million in total value, set a "new industry standard" for apparel contracts. But Kraft said he wants to move judiciously in signing a jersey partner.

"We're seeing it in real time, the modernization of college sports," Kraft said. "But at the same time, we have to honor our past and our tradition. We're as steeped in tradition as anybody in the country, so you've got to be sensitive to those elements and make the right decision. That's why we're taking our time with that."

Fans walk up a section of temporary bleachers on the west side of Penn State's West Shore Home Field Beaver Stadium. | USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect

Adding patches to all of Penn State's athletic jerseys, not just football, underscores the athletic department's growing need for revenue to pay athletes, fund 31 varsityt programs and renovate Beaver Stadium. Kraft said that Penn State has signed more than $1 billion in guaranteed contracts for the athletic department's future. Kraft said that the the revenue being guaranteed is essential.

"The key is the guaranteed number," Kraft said. "It's the floor. Now we have the opportunity, and we should continue to generate more revenue on top of that. But that gives us a baseline more than most any of our peers."

Penn State has signed a variety of deals in Kraft's four years as athletic director, most recently with a platform that sells fan tokens, which are a form of cryptocurrency. Penn State also signed the $50 million, Beaver Stadium field-naming rights deal with West Shore Home.

In addition, Kraft said that Penn State has raised $353 million from donations for Penn State athletics, which includes more than $135 million for the Beaver Stadum renovation. Kraft added that Penn State remains on budget with the renovation, which initially was set at $700 million.

"We have to continue to find other ways to generate revenue at a high clip," Kraft said. "We are blessed to be a self-sustaining department. We are blessed to be at the high end. But the minute you take your eye off ball and you take a step back, that's when you can lose footing."

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Penn State athletic director Pat Kraft gives two thumbs up to the student section following a Nittany Lions win over Iowa in 2023. | USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect