The University of Kansas signed a five-year deal with the digital finance company Ripple. Through the agreement, all Jayhawks team uniforms will feature a jersey patch to promote XRP, a form cryptocurrency.
They are going to wear the most sponsored jerseys in college sports.
If I am doing the math correctly, that means every one of Kansas’ athletic programs is set to rock at least three different patches during the regular season. It is starting to look like the professional ranks on an international scale.
Kansas partnered with a crypto company.
Brad Garlinghouse is the CEO of Ripple. He is a native of Topeka, Kansas and an alumnus of the University of Kansas who previously served as the study body president.
His company is the leading provider of blockchain-based enterprise solutions across traditional and digital finance. It primarily offers enterprise blockchain products on the XRP Ledger.
Ripple partnered with his alma mater for a first-of-its-kind sponsorship. The Jayhawks announced the agreement on Wednesday morning.
Through the agreement, in collaboration with Learfield, an XRP jersey patch will be featured on all Kansas Athletics team uniforms, marking the first time a cryptocurrency will be integrated into the jersey of a major college athletics program. XRP is a cryptocurrency that’s fast, credible and trusted. It was developed to move money around the world in seconds, at a fraction of the cost of traditional banking.
Even beyond branding, Ripple will “fund financial and technology educations programs for student-athletes and the campus community.” It will also “expand its existing talent pipeline connecting Kansas graduates to careers across the technology industry.”
The partnership was created in collaboration with Jayhawk Sports Properties, the locally based team of Learfield. Jayhawk Sports Properties is the exclusive multimedia rights holder for Kansas Athletics and handles all sponsorships, in-venue signage, jersey patches, and advertising rights on behalf of the university.
The Jayhawks are going to wear a lot of jersey patches.
Kansas is not the first school to sign a jersey patch sponsor. Nor will it be the last.
However, as far as I am aware, it is the first school to wear four different patches on the same jersey at the same time.
The Big 12 announced a partnership with Monster Energy on Tuesday. Every team in the conference will be required to wear a Monster Energy patch. That’s one.
Kansas announced its partnership with Ripple on Wednesday. Its athletic programs will be required to wear an XRP patch. That’s two.
Kansas is an Adidas school. Its jerseys will also feature the three stripes. That’s three.
The Jayhawks are members of the Big 12. They typically wear the conference logo patch on their jerseys as well. That’s four.
Maybe the Monster Energy deal is going to replace the conference logo patch. Maybe it will be a joint logo patch, similar to the ones for the Dr Pepper Big 12 Championship gmae. I don’t know. That would leave only three patches, all of which are sponsored.
There might even be a fourth (or fifth) patch in the mix. Some college football and basketball programs may also choose to wear a patch in honor of ‘America 250.’ I don’t know whether Kansas is one of them. I really hope so.
Can you imagine if the Jayhawks run out of the tunnel with five different patches on their jerseys? It is getting closer and closer to international status, where the soccer and basketball teams cover their kits with sponsors.
Kansas, as of this writing, is the most-sponsored team in college football and college basketball.