On Tuesday morning, Ohio State announced what was at the time the richest jersey patch deal in college sports. That record stood for about two hours, and then Notre Dame announced they, too, had struck a jersey patch deal that happens to be worth even more. The timing of the announcement doesn’t seem like a coincidence.
When the Buckeyes announced their deal, giving them $17 million more to work with every year than they had when the day started, it became clear the Fighting Irish had to think about following suit. As it turns out, AD Pete Bevacqua was already thinking about it and finalizing a deal with SoFi Technologies.
Notre Dame entered into a six-year deal with SoFi that reports claim is worth about $18 million to $20 million per year, according to ESPN, and is believed to be the richest in college athletics history. Should those numbers be accurate, it beats the Buckeyes by anywhere from $1 million to $3 million a year. That they decided to announce their deal on the same day as Ohio State should make plenty of Irish fans smile.
Bevaqua has been aggressive since taking over as AD in his pursuit of deals and moves that keep his program among the best of the best. Whether that’s carving out a special dispensation for the playoffs or getting Congress to allow them to join a conference whenever they want, Bevaqua has been successful in keeping his school at the top of the heap. Especially in the way he’s managed to keep Marcus Freeman in South Bend despite numerous offseasons of rumors that he was leaving.
Pete Bevacqua keeps Notre Dame football ahead in college sports revenue race
It’s also worth noting that Bevacqua pushed earlier this spring for the revenue-sharing cap to be raised quite a bit over where it currently sits. He sees more money coming into Notre Dame in the next few years.
According to a news release, SoFi will establish a new annual $1.4 million fund to support Notre Dame's "4 for Forever" campaign, which funds scholarships in 26 sports and supports student-athletes through financial education, career development and other opportunities.
And while this deal helps the university in general, Bevacqua made sure that specific student-athletes who wouldn’t normally have a perfect opportunity will get one.
As part of the partnership, SoFi will also establish a full-tuition Champions Scholarship, which will be awarded to one men's and women's walk-on who "exemplify ambition, resilience, leadership and service."
NCAA Division I leaders approved corporate uniform patches in January to generate millions of dollars to help athletics departments pay for the soaring costs of paying student-athletes. In addition to the logos already allowed for apparel brands, teams are permitted to place two patches of no more than 4 square inches on uniforms during regular-season games.
Notre Dame is the 27th school to announce a deal like its partnership with SoFi, and the trend is growing rather quickly. With Big Ten media days in full swing, it wouldn’t be surprising if schools like Nebraska or USC announce new deals this week.
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