CHICAGO - Penn State football is headed toward a jersey patch, and Athletic Director Pat Kraft made clear Tuesday that it is no longer a question of if, but when.
Kraft said the program is in the middle of a “deep evaluation” as it looks for the right corporate partner, with the market for those deals climbing fast across the Big Ten and beyond. Ohio State recently announced a partnership with JPMorganChase worth nearly $17 million per year, while Illinois and Wisconsin have also landed patch agreements. Then Notre Dame raised the bar again with a SoFI deal that is expected to bring in $18-$20 million annually, according to Yahoo Sports’ Ross Dellenger.
“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.”
Penn State’s uniforms carry real weight with fans, and Kraft acknowledged that. He pointed out that adidas did not alter the look of the team’s jerseys, and Penn State said the 10-year apparel deal with the company, worth about $300 million in total value, established a “new industry standard.” Even so, Kraft said the school is being careful about adding a patch 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.”
The patch discussion is bigger than football. Kraft said adding corporate marks to Penn State athletic jerseys across the department reflects the need to create more revenue to pay athletes, support 31 varsity programs and help fund the Beaver Stadium renovation. He said Penn State has already signed more than $1 billion in guaranteed contracts for the athletic department’s future.
“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.”
Kraft also pointed to several other revenue streams Penn State has added during his four years as athletic director, including a platform that sells fan tokens, which are a form of cryptocurrency, and the $50 million Beaver Stadium field-naming rights deal with West Shore Home.
He said Penn State has also raised $353 million in donations for athletics, including more than $135 million for the Beaver Stadium renovation, and added that the project remains on budget after originally being 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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