On Wednesday, three days from Alabama’s home opener at Bryant-Denny Stadium against Louisiana Monroe in Week 2, Ben Portnoy of The Sports Business Journal reported that Alabama will be debuting an on-field sponsorship logo.
Alabama confirmed the report, announcing its partnership with the U.S. Navy’s Maritime Industrial Base Program. A logo for the joint venture between the university and the program that reads “Build Giants Alabama” will be painted on the 25-yard lines of Nick Saban Field this season. There will also be signage and messaging throughout Bryant-Denny Stadium featuring Nick Saban explaining the importance of the partnership that is working to develop and strengthen America’s shipbuilding industrial base.
Sources: Alabama is set to add on-field sponsor logos at Bryant-Denny Stadium via a partnership w/ the U.S. Navy’s Maritime Industrial Base (MIB) Program.
— Ben Portnoy (@bportnoy15) September 3, 2025
Logos for their joint initiative, “Build Giants Alabama,” will be painted on the 25-yard lines beginning Saturday vs. ULM. pic.twitter.com/o4g3mjloBZ
The deal, which was certainly negotiated well before Alabama’s 31-17 Week 1 loss to unranked Florida State, can also serve another purpose. As an additional source of revenue that the program was inevitably going to tap into with the rising costs of college football across the country during the revenue-sharing era, the on-field sponsorship deal could also go towards paying Kalen DeBoer’s $63 million buyout if the program wants to move on from Saban’s replacement this year.
Alabama debuting new on-field sponsorship for 2025 season
The loss to Florida State was DeBoer’s fourth to an unranked opponent since taking over in Tuscaloosa, matching the total number of games Saban lost to unranked opponents across his 17 seasons as the Crimson Tide’s head coach. DeBoer is also 5-5 in his last 10 games after a 4-0 start to his tenure last season.
Despite those alarming numbers, the buyout provides DeBoer with a measure of job security, at least for this season. However, additional sponsorship deals could continue to soften the blow of his buyout if Alabama feels it has to change direction.
If not to pay DeBoer’s buyout, the “Build Giants Alabama” sponsorship will be used to help build Alabama back into an SEC giant. The Tide can’t quite match Texas’s NIL spending, and though it’s been recruiting at a top-five level under DeBoer, the program could use the influx of cash to close the gap between itself and the SEC’s top spenders.
The roster isn’t the issue with this year’s Alabama team, at least it wasn’t in Week 1. The Tide brought back 14 starters from last season, including eight on one of the most talented defenses in the country. However, with an obvious lack of effort showing up against Florida State, quarterback Thomas Castellanos carved the Tide on the ground and through the air, backing up his bold claims from the offseason.
If Alabama submits more performances like that one this season, then administrators could start looking to slap sponsorships on everything in and around Tuscaloosa to raise the $63 million it would need.