The announcement of the jersey patch deals of Ohio State and Notre Dame last week seems to have created a benchmark for similar deals among top college football programs. While Ohio State’s deal cost $17 million, Notre Dame’s deal cost $18 million. However, the Michigan Wolverines and other SEC and Big Ten programs are being projected to have jersey patch deals of around $30 million.

Per Front Office Sports, two sources known for handling multimedia rights negotiations for colleges had projected Ohio State to make a mouthwatering amount from its jersey patch deal. And while the sources did not handle either of these two deals, the Buckeyes disappointed them, as they projected the Buckeyes to strike a deal worth “closer to $25 million.”

On the other hand, Notre Dame surpassed their expectations, especially considering that they do not offer branding opportunities at Notre Dame Stadium. As such, these prices have become the industry standard, even though only a handful of programs can deliver that value.

Michigan was named alongside the Texas Longhorns, Alabama Crimson Tide, USC Trojans, and Penn State as one of the programs with the potential to earn the biggest jersey patch deals. Some of them are projected to earn as much as $30 million.

There is no announcement regarding the signature of a jersey patch deal by Kyle Whittingham’s program. However, it is believed that the athletic department is actively exploring its options as rival programs are reaping huge dividends from their deals. However, there is every reason to believe that the recent scandals surrounding the athletic department have contributed to the delay.

Athletic director Warde Manuel is leaving the program at the end of the calendar year as a result, which could force the program to postpone signing a deal until after his departure. The good thing about jersey patch deals in college football is how having various sports helps programs sign deals at almost any time, compared to professional leagues, where the timing is more defined.

“We’ll continue to see deal activity throughout the college football season,” Allison Fillmore, SVP of commercial partnerships at Learfield, told Front Office Sports. “And we’ll definitely see an influx around the start of basketball season, too. Unlike the professional ranks, college jersey patches are really almost a year-round opportunity.”

Despite projections for Kyle Whittingham’s program, there is no definite price tag yet. But an industry fact is that financial services companies have historically offered the largest sports sponsorship deals. Therefore, a deal from a financial services company is Michigan’s best bet to surpass the standard set by Ohio State and Notre Dame.

Ohio State and Notre Dame deals

The deals by Ohio State and Notre Dame were historic moves, as both programs signed two of the most lucrative corporate jersey patch deals in college sports history. Notre Dame’s six-year deal was struck with financial services giant SoFi Technologies. The multi-year deal will see the Fighting Irish feature the SoFi logo as the first-ever corporate patch on their uniforms across all sports.

Ohio State’s deal was in partnership with JPMorgan Chase. Ohio State head coach Ryan Day joked that he was initially against the deal since JPMorgan Chase’s logo is blue (similar to Michigan’s). However, the two sides agreed on a jersey patch color other than blue. As a result of the agreement, the Chase Bank logo patch will be on the jerseys of all 36 Buckeye varsity sports programs from the coming season.

“I think the market has now been set,” said Jason Miller, EVP of commercial revenue and head of properties for Excel Sports Management, told Front Office Sports. “A few deals have trickled in over the last few months, but everybody has really been waiting for a big shoe to drop.”