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The athletic department of the University of Kansas, Kansas Athletics, has announced a five-year sponsorship agreement with fintech company Ripple. Starting in fall 2026, the logo of the XRP cryptocurrency will appear on the game jerseys of all university teams.
According to Ben Portnoy of Sports Business Journal, the agreement has become one of the most lucrative patch-placement deals in the history of U.S. college sports.
Inside the XRP Deal Surprising the NCAA
The partnership creates an important precedent for American sports, as XRP has become the first cryptocurrency brand to be integrated directly into the uniforms of a major NCAA Division I athletic program.
The integration will be strictly regulated, and the patches will appear only on official competition gear, including sports such as men's and women's golf, but will not be used on practice or travel uniforms. At the same time, the patch design will be adapted to the teams' colors — crimson, blue, or white — so as not to disrupt the overall style of the Adidas jerseys.
The partnership also brings important practical changes for students and fans:
- Ripple will fully fund special financial literacy programs for student-athletes, teaching both the basics of traditional banking and how to work with digital assets.
- Official replica jerseys will be sold in stores without the crypto logo, but fans will be able to add the XRP patch for free at the time of purchase at the Jayhawk Outfitters store.
The agreement also has deep personal roots. Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse is a University of Kansas alumnus who previously donated $35 million to his alma mater.
The announcement comes at a time of major commercialization across the Big 12 Conference. Universities are actively looking for new sources of revenue and just one day earlier, the conference announced a similar patch integration with Monster Energy.
For the crypto industry, Ripple's move marks a return to mainstream American sports, but this time through long-term educational and commercial projects with college leagues.
Dan Burgin
U.Today Editorial Team
