Advertisements on Uniforms Could Happen in College Football This Fall

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ARLINGTON, TX — Name, Image and Likeness has opened up numerous avenues for student-athletes to profit in college that were previously untapped.

One way college football fans could see that manifest on Saturdays in 2021? Advertisements on players' jerseys.

Greg Burks, the Big 12 Coordinator of Officials, said Thursday that there is now a gray area in the NCAA rules that could allow for a player to place an endorsement on their uniform. “The NCAA has now OK'd a 16-square-inch patch, four inches by four inches, for any sentiment that you want to hold on to,” Burks said after his rules presentation at Big 12 Media Days. “So unity, whatever it may be, and the individual player can wear that. Not everyone has to wear that.

“So when you ask me about NIL, if (a player) wants to put (a sponsor), does he have that right? Who screens whether or not that’s valid? I don’t have those answers.” Burks acknowledged how appetizing such a deal would be for each athlete, as it’s something he would consider himself if he were in that position. “I do know that if I could put a patch on (my jersey), and you pay me 100 grand for that patch, I’d look at it,” he said. “But the rules are pretty specific as to what can go on the uniform.”

For now, Burks said that determination could be at the discretion of the on-field referee, who may have to radio in to Burks himself at the Big 12 replay center. Calls may even go higher up the chain on a game day, Burks said, to the Big 12 Commissioner’s office, illustrating just how broad all of the NIL rules are at this point.

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