In this week’s Film Room, we break down an important announcement regarding:
- A proposal to allow jersey patches and other lucrative new sponsorships
- A finalized January football transfer portal window
Proposal creates path for new, lucrative sponsorship opportunities for athletic departments
On October 8, the Division I Administrative Committee (which replaced the Division I Council in the NCAA’s streamlined governance structure announced this summer and has since been renamed the Division I Cabinet) introduced a proposal that, if adopted, would allow for commercial logos on student-athlete uniforms and other equipment.
The proposed rule modification would permit institutions to “place two additional commercial logos on uniforms and pregame/postgame apparel during non-NCAA championship competition” and allow that “one additional commercial logo would be permitted on equipment used by student-athletes.”
Reports from Yahoo! Finance and CNBC suggest that jersey patch deals for NBA teams are valued at tens of millions of dollars per year. We’re all familiar with the broad reach of college sports—an adopted proposal would be an enormous opportunity for institutions, and realizing full value will demand critical and creative thinking. Dynamic deals with sponsors can incorporate contributions to institutional aims that go beyond the lucrative compensation packages these deals will command.
A quick note on potential timing: the announcement indicated that after a feedback period over the coming months, a final proposal will likely be submitted for consideration at the NCAA convention in January. An approved proposal would likely go into effect in August 2026.
New January football transfer portal window
The same announcement identified a new 15-day transfer portal window for football student-athletes of January 2-16, effective immediately. We previously addressed football calendar considerations, including the main impact of the elimination of a spring transfer portal window. Football student-athletes will also have a 15-day window to enter the transfer portal beginning five days after the announcement of a new head coach.
The new schedule should result in a calmer spring and a January packed with third-party NIL activity.
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