In the 2026-27 sports season, athletics departments at colleges and universities around the country will be entering the second cycle of being able to directly pay their players. It's a whole new world in college sports, and athletics departments have to continually look for ways to bring in revenue to stay competitive with peers in their conference and on a national scale, experts say.
As we enter the upcoming college football season, more and more deals will likely be announced where schools strike potentially lucrative partnerships for on-field commercial branding, along with corporate logos on jerseys, helmets and uniforms.
On Tuesday, the Syracuse Orange got into this space. Progressive Insurance, via an agreement facilitated by media and technology company Learfield, said it would place its logo on football fields at 13 schools, including the 'Cuse, along with other marketing elements such as in-game videoboard features, LED signage, digital and social media integrations and other game-day experiences.
The Sports Business Journal reports that the deal between Progressive and the schools is expected to run for multiple years, with the on-field logo placement varying "from the sideline to the 50- and 25-yard line." The insurance giant's logo will debut on these 13 football fields with the start of the 2026 campaign, Progressive says.
The teams involved cross numerous leagues, including the Atlantic Coast Conference, and include some heavyweight programs, such as Georgia and Ole Miss out of the Southeastern Conference, along with Big Ten Conference behemoths like Oregon and USC.
Rounding out the baker's dozen are Syracuse, Boise State, Colorado, Iowa, Kansas State, Purdue, SMU, Texas Tech and Wake Forest. Financial terms of this partnership aren't expected to be disclosed; however, sports marketing experts told Inside the Loud House on Tuesday that this is a significant deal for the Orange.
"It's an absolute win for Syracuse," Rick Burton, emeritus professor of sport management at SU's David B. Falk College of Sport, said in a telephone interview on Tuesday. "Costs in college athletics are going up exponentially. This will bring in much-needed revenue. ... Syracuse just being in the deal is great."
Syracuse is involved in a unique marketing agreement involving Progressive and 12 other schools.
As a result of the multi-billion-dollar House antitrust settlement approved last summer, in 2025-26, schools could share up to $20.5 million in revenue with their athletes. Syracuse Athletics shared the maximum amount, and SU athletics director Bryan Blair has said that the school will share the maximum amount again in 2026-27, which is approximately $21.3 million.
For the Orange to remain competitive in the ACC and nationally, it faces pressure to continue generating sizable revenue as it shares these dollars with 'Cuse players. Third-party name, image and likeness ("NIL") deals are also paramount; to that end, this past spring, One Orange Alliance launched as a third-party marketing agency supporting all 20 varsity sports at the 'Cuse.
While fans may not love the idea of commercial logos on football fields, and also on helmets, jerseys and uniforms, if it comes down to these sorts of sponsorships taking place or athletics departments raising ticket prices (and that could happen anyway, too), experts say most fans will be okay with it and keep showing up to watch their favorite teams play.
"Revenue generation is the name of the game right now," Nels Popp, a professor of sport administration at North Carolina, told Inside the Loud House in a telephone interview on Tuesday. Athletics departments "are squeezing extra dollars every way they can."
Naming rights deals for stadiums have been around for a while. For one, Carrier's agreement with the Dome at Syracuse University was inked in 1979, with JMA Wireless taking over in this regard in 2022. But other marketing sponsorships are more recent. In June 2024, the NCAA approved commercial sponsorship advertisements on football fields for regular-season games.
For the 2026 college football season, up to two commercial logos are allowed on jerseys, with an additional one permitted during conference championship or postseason bowl/College Football Playoff competition. One logo is also allowed on helmets.
Sports marketing experts say that Tuesday's deal between Mayfield Village, Ohio-based Progressive, one of the country's largest insurance companies, and the 13 schools is both interesting and unique for a couple of reasons.
While schools have announced individual sponsorships one by one, and there are also conference-wide deals, such as the Big 12's multi-year agreement with Corona, Calif-based Monster Energy, the Progressive announcement includes a wide range of schools that are in numerous different leagues.
Additionally, the Progressive deal was facilitated by Dallas-based Learfield. All in all, experts told Inside the Loud House that this is an appealing agreement for Progressive because it gets the insurer into 13 schools all at once.
While Progressive's specific strategy here isn't known - Inside the Loud House has submitted questions to the insurance company that have yet to be answered - reaching a variety of audiences and demographics in one full swoop is attractive, experts say.
Progressive appears to be aggressive with its sports marketing endeavors. In June, the insurance company announced a multi-year agreement with the WNBA's Chicago Sky. Last month, Progressive forged a multi-year deal with the new WNBA franchise in Cleveland, the Sirens, a team that is expected to begin playing in the 2028 season.
In a statement issued to Inside the Loud House, Sean Freeman, the media business leader at Progressive, said: "College football is about more than what happens on game day – it reflects the pride, tradition and community that defines Syracuse and we’re proud to support the student-athletes, alumni and fans who help make this program so special. We’re thrilled to have the opportunity to be a part of game days with this historic fanbase."
Experts note that what makes this partnership valuable for Progressive is that a logo on the field is permanent visibility, as opposed to branding on, say, a videoboard that may come and go throughout the game. The same is true for the Allstate logo that appears on the ball-catching nets behind field-goal posts. Fans only see these when the nets are raised during kicks.
"Permanent visibility drives value," Burton said, adding that SU still has room for a logo deal (or deals) on helmets, jerseys and uniforms.
Popp echoed that sentiment. "The field is the highest-priced inventory." The UNC professor says when doing these sorts of agreements, it's important for schools to find the right partner. Banks, credit unions, insurers and medical companies, among others, are usually "safe bets" because they are financially stable.
"The longer the association" between the school and the corporate sponsor, "the stronger the brand is to the fan base," Popp says.
Naturally, fans and other observers want to know how much revenue this deal with Progressive will bring to SU Athletics. That's tough to say. Messages left for Syracuse Athletics and Learfield weren't immediately returned on Tuesday.
Popp says it's feasible that the agreement could generate $1 million or more per school on an annual basis. However, given that Learfield facilitated this deal, it's highly likely that Learfield is getting some sort of revenue split, experts say.
Burton said it could be a $10 million deal annually for all 13 schools combined, or maybe even $20 million, with some teams getting more than others based on their performance on the field, brand awareness and other factors.
Sports marketing experts interviewed by Inside the Loud House stressed that these possible dollar amounts for the Progressive agreement are speculative. Either way, Burton says that the 'Cuse being in a group that includes Georgia, which has won two national titles in recent years, and Oregon, the No. 2 squad in the Associated Press' preseason top-25 poll, is great company for SU.
"I'm very positive on it for Syracuse," Burton says.
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