Tennessee football and Olympic sports will have an orange and white First Horizon logo on their uniforms as the first jersey patches in program history.
On Sept. 1, UT announced the deal with First Horizon Bank, which has served as a significant sponsor of the Vols for 34 years.
The 18th-ranked Vols football team will debut the First Horizon jersey patch in the season opener against Furman (1-0) on Sept. 5 (3:30 p.m. ET, ESPN+/SEC Network+) at Neyland Stadium.
Olympic sports teams will don the First Horizon logo on their uniforms beginning in the 2026-27 season, including volleyball, soccer, golf, tennis, cross-country, rowing, track and field, and swimming.
UT did not disclose financial terms in its news release. A source within the industry told Knox News the value of the partnership is more $120 million over 10 years.
It’s the second jersey patch that Tennessee has announced. The men’s and women’s basketball teams will wear jersey patches sponsored by Axle Logistics, a shipping and transportation company based in Knoxville and founded by a pair of Tennessee alumni, through the 2030-31 season.
The basketball jersey patch carried an estimated value of about $3.4 million per year.
The two jersey patch deals pump more than $15 million into UT athletics. The baseball and softball teams do not yet have a jersey patch.
“For more than 30 years, First Horizon has been an indispensable partner to Tennessee athletics, and we are proud to extend this remarkable collaboration,” UT athletics director Danny White said in a school release. “In this dynamic era of college athletics, we are confident in First Horizon’s ability to provide the resources and leadership needed to keep our programs competitive while safeguarding the integrity of our brand and uniforms.
“The First Horizon name is synonymous with excellence, vision, and a commitment to progress, values that mirror those of Tennessee athletics.”
In addition to the jersey patches, First Horizon will have premium areas that carry its name: First Horizon West Club in Neyland Stadium and First Horizon MVP Club in Lindsey Nelson Stadium.
“We are honored to deepen our partnership with Tennessee athletics, an institution that embodies pride, tradition and drive,” First Horizon CEO/President Bryan Jordan said in the school release. “For more than three decades, we have celebrated alongside the Vols and invested in the growth of Tennessee students on and off the field. Becoming the official jersey patch sponsor across so many programs is a significant milestone that reflects our shared commitment to innovation, excellence, and opportunity.”
Jersey patches at other schools, including Notre Dame, Ohio State
The NCAA Division I board approved updated rules in January that allowed for sponsorship patches on jerseys, equipment and apparel. The costs for building competitive rosters through revenue sharing and NIL payments are increasing annually and selling jersey sponsorships is another way athletic departments can generate new revenue.
Notre Dame and Ohio State, two of the sport’s biggest brands, partnered with major banks − SoFi for the Fighting Irish and JP Morgan Chase for the Buckeyes − in deals reportedly worth anywhere from $17 to $20 million annually, according to reports from ESPN. Those deals apply to every sport in Notre Dame and Ohio State’s athletic department.
Typically, local businesses, regionally-specific chains and local organizations are a popular choice for college sports programs that opt to add jersey patches.
Memphis-based FedEx will have their logo on Memphis Tigers jerseys, Vanderbilt will don the SRM Concrete logo on football uniforms and Midwestern fast food chain Culvers will have its logo affixed to the shoulders of Wisconsin players.
Meanwhile, Oklahoma State and Washington State partnered with nearby Native American tribes for their jersey sponsors.
Stephen Thompson contributed to this report. Adam Sparks is the Tennessee football beat reporter. Email adam.sparks@knoxnews.com. X, formerly known as Twitter@AdamSparks. Support strong local journalism by subscribing at knoxnews.com/subscribe.
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