Auburn Tigers head coach Hugh Freeze Jake Crandall/ Advertiser / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Auburn announces on-field advertising partnership with a unique twist

Originally posted on NIL on SI | By JC Shelton | Last updated Aug 20, 2025 6:16 PM ET

Auburn is the latest major college football program establish on-field advertising in the aftermath of the House settlement's approval.

The revenue-sharing model is here, ushering in a new era in college sports, and schools are faced with finding sustainable funding. Up to $20.5 million can be shared directly to student athletes this year with that number increasing over the next 10 years.

The Tigers turned in the direction of a familiar brand, lumber company Yellawood, which is owned and operated by and billionaire Jimmy Rane. The Auburn alum has been a member of his alma mater's board of trustees since 1999.

The five-year deal, according to On3's Justin Hokanson, falls somewhere between $2 and $6 million annually. Additionally, Rane and the Tigers are honoring late Auburn head coach Pat Dye, including his name alongside the YellaWood logo on the field at Jordan-Hare Stadium.

John Reed-US Presswire

“Pat Dye revolutionized Auburn Athletics,” Rane said in a statement while nodding to the legendary head coach's introductory press conference in 1981. "He left no doubt about what he was about and what he intended to do. The reporter asked him, ‘Coach, how long is it going to take you to beat Alabama?’

“With a cold-eyed, steel look, he looked at him and said, ‘Sixty minutes.’ You knew damn well he meant business. From that day forward until he stopped coaching, that’s the attitude and grit he brought to Auburn’s program.”

“We are profoundly grateful to Jimmy Rane and YellaWood for honoring Coach Dye and supporting Auburn Athletics in this innovative manner,” Auburn athletics director John Cohen said. “To Jimmy and to Auburn, this is so much more than a sponsorship agreement.”

The YellaWood logo will be featured on both 25-yard lines below the words “Pat Dye Field." According to On3, the partnership will "direct significant money to Auburn football’s NIL efforts."

Tigers, coming off four consecutive losing seasons, will open the 2025 season at Baylor on Aug. 29 at 8 p.m. ET (Fox).

This article first appeared on NIL on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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