A few years ago at a fundraising event in Hawai’i, Patrick Mahomes saddled up next to Texas Tech’s athletics director and pitched an idea.
The NFL superstar didn’t just want to help his alma mater, he wanted his name to be forever associated with Texas Tech.
“He wanted his alma mater with Adidas – and at the same time he had the vision for growth of his ‘Gladiator’ logo, his brand,” Hocutt said.
Texas Tech was in talks at the time with Under Armour to extend their apparel and equipment contract, but Mahomes, who had recently signed with Adidas, had a different pitch: why not sign with Adidas and include his own brand in the contract?
The informal conversation soon led to action, and in 2024, Texas Tech jumped to Adidas and signed a 10-year agreement. In that agreement, Mahomes’ branded “Gladiator” logo appeared on jerseys for one home football game against Colorado.
“Seeing my own logo on the Texas Tech uniform I put so much blood, sweat and tears in is one of the most meaningful off-field accomplishments of my career,” Mahomes said in October.
The announcement was a hit with the Red Raiders’ players and fans, but it wasn’t the first formal deal to involve some combination of the university, Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs. Texas Tech has seemingly hitched its wagon to Mahomes over the last four years, going as far to sign a multi-million dollar marketing deal with the NFL franchise that includes game-day advertisements for Texas Tech at Arrowhead Stadium and across the Chiefs’ in-house broadcasts and social media.
“Anytime you turn on a Chiefs game, you’re going to see something with Texas Tech on their boards,” Red Raiders coach Joey McGuire said.
It’s difficult to avoid the power “TT” logo at Arrowhead Stadium. It appears…
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