Will Texas Longhorns sell advertising on their jerseys? LSU plans to boost NIL selling ads

Searching for a potential NIL edge, the LSU Tigers have announced they will sell a sponsorship patch on their iconic jerseys. The Baton Rouge Advocate reports LSU “hopes the NCAA will allow schools to sell patches on their jerseys.” In the event the governing body clears it, the Tigers project they can generate “multiple millions of dollars a year” doing so.

The report says LSU has already identified an advertising partner and has decided out where the patches would go on every jersey, from cross country to football. LSU deputy AD for revenue generation Clay Harris says the program can generate millions a year. But he also says the ad emblem won't go overboard. "We don't have this as some crazy, NASCAR-like situation," Harris said.

Not everyone is pleased with the plan.

To help come up with the $20.5M to pay their athletes, LSU is planning to sell advertisements on all its teams' jerseys. I think this is a terrible, unforgivable mistake not worth a fraction of what they'd get in return.https://t.co/S8UPjpcMNY— Zach Barnett (@zach_barnett) July 2, 2025

Of course, college football jerseys already have a couple forms of advertising on them already. First, there's the apparel maker's patch. Be it Nike, or Adidas or Under Amour, the jersey manufacturer makes sure their logo is easily visible. Adidas has even increased the size of its logos on jerseys in the English Premier League.

Each college team also carries their conference logo. While that patch shows unanimity among conference member schools, make not mistake - it is an ad.

International soccer clubs are the real trailblazers in jersey sponsorships. Almost all European teams have a jersey sponsor and it is front and center, the biggest logo on the entire jersey. The team's logo is typically relegated to a small patch on the left side. London club Arsenal, for example, makes $68.25 million dollars a year from Emirates Airlines.

In the US, the NBA has had jersey advertising for eight years now. The NBA allows teams to sell one sponsorship patch placed on the front left shoulder of player uniforms. Teams make significant money from the ads, averaging $10.88 million per year. New NBA Champion Oklahoma City, for example, has a Love's travel shop patch.

The NHL doesn't have jersey sponsors, but the league does allow helmet sponsors.

One decision that needs to be made is the size and look of the patches. Will the sponsor try to match the team colors? Will LSU have a patch that actually clashes with its purple and gold? Where will the logo go? LSU has not shared their exact plan.

Fans won't like the new advertising space, but if it is successful in Baton Rouge, you can bet more, if not all, teams will adopt the idea. Tradition be damned. The additional revenue stream has been discussed by athletic directors for over a year.

This article originally appeared on Longhorns Wire: Should Texas Longhorns join LSU and sell advertising on jerseys?