In the latest and most high profile sponsorship deal in college sports, The Ohio State Buckeyes athletics department has struck a deal with JP Morgan Chase to sponsor their sports teams.
Yesterday, when speaking of Illinoisâ $6 million deal, it was postured that a team like Ohio State could garner upwards of $15 million or more from a similar type of deal. We now know that the number is $17 million per year.
The deal agreed upon by Ohio State and Chase will encompass patches on all 36 of the Ohio Sponsored sports adding major value to the largest athletics department in the nation.
Ohio State spent more money on athletics and had the highest revenues in sports in the last reported year of 2024. This revenue is now set to increase further with this deal being worth an additional revenue stream to the Buckeyes in their attempt to leave all other schools in the rearview mirror.
Before this signing, LSU and their deal with Woodside Energy was the most notable school to sign such a deal. Now, Ohio State will become the fourth Big Ten school and the biggest name to have such a deal signed. This deal, while not doing to much for football, will do major things for other sports in the Buckeyes sphere.
College Basketball, both menâs and womenâs, can also be an expensive venture to compete. The Illinois squad who went to the Final Four in 2026 was a seven figure team and the 2026-27 team, which will come into the new season ranked in the top five is set to cost a minimum of $15 million. If Ohio State plans on competing in basketball alongside football, this deal will go a long way in making sure that Ross Bjork has the funding to do so at a premium level.
The Big Ten Conference is the wealthiest conference in college sports. Even the low end of the conference spends more than $125 million on the athletics department. Northwestern, consistently near the bottom of the conference, spent more than $400 million to renovate Ryan Field in hopes of getting better and more consistent in football. The Wildcats are doing so well that Ohio State football coach Ryan Day is sending his son to school to play his collegiate football.
With teams now finding any way possible to gain finances, this move by the Buckeyes administration is the first in a line of lucrative deals by the biggest schools in college athletics. The question will be, did Ohio State do wrong by being the first to sign? If they had waited for teams like Georgia, Alabama and even Michigan, the Buckeyes could have potentially gotten even more money as the biggest brand in the sport. Outside of Notre Dame. Who may refuse a jersey deal to preserve tradition and class.
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