Ohio State is about to step into the corporate patch era, and the Buckeyes are doing it with a deal that should bring in serious cash.
On Tuesday, the school announced a partnership with JPMorgan Chase that will put a jersey patch on all 36 varsity sports. It’s the kind of move plenty of fans will roll their eyes at, but it comes with a payoff that’s hard to ignore.
According to ESPN’s Pete Thamel, the deal could be worth as much as $17 million per year for Ohio State. That number is expected to be industry-leading, and it figures to be driven in large part by the visibility of the football program, even though every team will wear the patch.
NEWS: Ohio Stare is entering a new corporate partnership with JPMorganChase that includes jersey patches for all 36 OSU teams. Per industry sources, this is expected to yield OSU nearly $17 million per year, an eye-popping number that’s expected to be an industry leader. pic.twitter.com/rZkkeYAuTM
- Pete Thamel (@PeteThamel) July 28, 2026
No Ohio State fan is going to love seeing a corporate logo on the jersey. That part is easy. But the money is the point, and this deal also opens the door for players to land NIL opportunities through JPMorgan Chase.
The move isn’t exactly a shock. Ross Bjork had already made it clear that a company partnership would get done before the 2026 football season.
What stands out is the company itself. A deal with an Ohio-based brand felt like the obvious path, and names like Nationwide, Wendy’s, Firestone, and Kroger all made sense as possible fits.
Instead, Bjork landed JPMorgan Chase.
That fits the broader direction of college athletics right now, where jersey patches are becoming part of the landscape. Ohio State simply got there with a deal that appears to be bigger than most.
Bjork’s push to squeeze money out of every corner has drawn criticism before, especially with the South stands seating that will debut this year and displace both students and the band. But this is one area where the financial logic is hard to argue with. If the Buckeyes are going to live in this new world, they might as well do it better than everyone else.
That matters for the athletic department’s future, especially with the pressure on schools to avoid cutting sports. Bjork has said he doesn’t want to go down that road, and a deal like this could help keep that promise intact.
Most fans will see the patch for the first time on Saturdays this fall. And there’s a decent chance it won’t register right away when they walk into the Shoe.
In Other News...
Blue Jackets Face One Roster Tension That Could Define Everything
The Blue Jackets have spent the summer trying to turn a long rebuild into something sturdier, and the roster is starting to look that way. Charlie Coyle arrived on a six-year contract, Valeri Nichushkin came in via trade, and Jet Greaves and Cole Sillinger both locked in multi-year deals, while Adam Fantillis next contract remains the biggest unfinished piece. With Rick Bowness set to get a full training camp and season behind the bench, Columbus is trying to build real momentum toward the 2026-27 push and finally end a six-year playoff drought.
One of the quieter but more meaningful questions hanging over all of it is leadership. Coyle is viewed as a likely captain candidate, which would give the room a veteran voice to go with the teams newer core, but the Blue Jackets have not made that call public yet. If Fantillis deal gets done soon, the focus can shift even more cleanly to the ice, where the pressure will be on this group to look like a playoff team before the noise around the standings starts to grow again. [Read more 🡒]
Kirill Marchenko Rumors Raise A Huge Question About This Front Office
Recent reporting around Kirill Marchenko has put a familiar Blue Jackets question back on the table: how aggressively should this front office protect a core scorer when the market starts to stir? For now, nothing is moving. Columbus has not gotten calls on Marchenko since earlier this summer, and the current expectation is that he opens the 2026-27 season in a Blue Jackets sweater.
Still, the fact that a deal was at least explored is enough to keep the conversation alive, especially with Marchenkos value tied to both his production and the kind of extension any acquiring team would need to stomach. The pause may be temporary, but it also leaves Columbus in a spot it knows well, weighing whether to build around a player like this or cash in before the questions get louder later in the summer. [Read more 🡒]
Blue Jackets Need To Know If Luca Del Bel Belluz Is Ready
Luca Del Bel Belluz has made a habit of forcing his way into the conversation in Cleveland, where the 22-year-old center has been one of the Blue Jackets most productive prospects and earned back-to-back AHL All-Star nods. The offense has been real enough to keep Columbus interested, and his development has reached the point where the organization needs a clearer answer on whether that production can translate when the pace and pressure jump to the NHL.
The timing matters, too, because the Blue Jackets have some openings in the forward group after losing a couple of players to free agency and placing Isac Lundestrom on injured reserve. Del Bel Belluz has already had a taste of the league over two seasons, but the results have been uneven, which leaves him at an important crossroads: he has shown enough in the minors to stay on the radar, now he has to show he can hold up in a regular role in Columbus. [Read more 🡒]