Tennessee Football Announces Massive Jersey Patch Deal

The Tennessee Volunteers have officially inked a deal that will last for 10 years, as they now have a new jersey patch on their football jerseys.

First Horizon X Tennessee Football

Tennessee football coach Josh Heupel hypes up the crowd and welcomes the incoming class of University of Tennessee, Knoxville students during Torch Night at Food City Center on Aug. 16, 2026, in Knoxville, Tennessee. | USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect

"Tennessee football has signed a 10-year jersey patch deal with First Horizon Bank, which industry sources tell ESPN will be worth more than $120 million over the life of the deal. The deal also includes various Olympic sports, but is separate from the men’s and women’s basketball patches," Pete Thamel announced.

This news comes just ahead of the first game of the season, which is when the Vols will play against the Furman Paladins. In the opening statment, Josh Heupel detailed that the Vols will also honor Dolly Parton following her passing, meaning there will be multiple changes to the uniforms that the Vols will wear, considering their helmet will have a sticker on it.

"Game week in Tennessee, ready to go play some ball. I am looking forward to seeing our fans. For a bunch of our players, first experience inside Neyland Stadium. Everybody inside the program is excited about kicking this thing off on Saturday. Culmination of the work that goes into it, dating all the way back to last January as we started our offseason program. I'm excited to go play and compete with these guys, and you know ultimately we will find out where we are at, and where we have got to continue to grow, but looking forward to the weekend. It would be remiss if I didn't talk about the passing of Dolly Parton. All that she has meant across the world, this country, and certainly the queen of East Tennessee. A lady that was extremely proud of her roots. You look at her impact, you know, just her ability to give back and make an impact on people. Certainly here in East Tennessee. She meant a lot to people across the country, but certainly here in the state of Tennessee, too, so we will be wearing a sticker patch on the back of our helmet to recognize her accomplishments and everything that she has meant, as she had an impact here in Tennessee. So, I also want to wish Coach Webb and our golf team good luck, as they tee it up and start their season here today, so with that, I will open it up to questions," Heupel said.

This isn't the first jersey patch to be added to Tennessee uniforms. In fact, the basketball and women's basketball teams will be repping a different branded patch this season.

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