Edward Jones bets on college athletes with new Duke, Oregon deals

Edward Jones has planted its flag in two of college sports' highest-profile programs this month, situating itself as the Official Wealth Management Partner of both Duke Basketball and Oregon Athletics.

The agreements, both of which run through 2030, effectively put the firm's financial education programming directly in front of a generation of athletes that are able to earn real money before they graduate.

The St. Louis-based firm's logo appeared courtside at Cameron Indoor Stadium on Aug. 31 in the kickoff of its four-year partnership with Duke Athletics, which would give the school's Blue Devil student athletes access to financial education workshops run by the firm starting in the 2027-2028 season.

That was followed days later by its title sponsorship of Oregon's Sept. 5 season-opener football game against Boise State, where the former prevailed in a narrower-than-expected 34-27 victory.

Together the deals cover football, basketball, baseball, softball, volleyball and track and field across the two schools, with financial literacy workshops for student-athletes as the centerpiece of both arrangements. Edward Jones has not revealed financial terms of either agreement, and neither university is a client of the firm, though it disclosed both universities were compensated for the endorsements.

For Edward Jones, the sponsorships are less about stadium signage than about reaching student-athletes at a moment of potentially heightened financial complexity, particularly for those navigating name, image and likeness income, endorsement contracts and entity formation.

Read more: NIL income forces financial advisors to rethink athlete planning

"Today's student-athletes are navigating an entirely new financial landscape, and we want them to know they have a trusted partner in Edward Jones," Hema Widhani, principal and chief brand, experience and marketing officer at Edward Jones, said of the Duke agreement.

Oregon athletic director Rob Mullens said "robust financial literacy programming is at the center of this partnership," while Duke's vice president and director of athletics, Nina King, credited the firm's "genuine curiosity about what our students and our department need most."

Edward Jones' push into collegiate athletics comes amid a growing gap between demand for financial guidance among young athletes and the advice they're actually getting. In one piece of survey research by Merrill, approximately 74% of high-potential U.S. athletes said they expected $25,000 or more from NIL deals, sponsorships and related income in 2025, and 88% said they were interested in working with a financial advisor. Howevery, just 8% of those next-gen athletes said they currently have a financial professional in their corner.

Read more: NIL deals creating opportunities for advisors even though some call it 'madness'

Among the topics student athletes said they wanted to learn from advisors, 82% said they wanted to go beyond basic saving to wealth building strategies, while three-fifths agreed on the value of tax planning (61%) and building credit (60%).

As for their top concerns, 40% cited the fear of losing money from bad financial calls, and three-tenths were worried their earnings wouldn't live up to their goals and lifestyle aspirations (29%) or that they would spend their windfall excessively without proper planning (28%).

"From irregular income patterns to industry specific tax considerations, athletes face complexities that differ significantly from traditional careers," Merrill said in its report. "Early financial decisions have amplified importance because athletic careers often involve compressed earning timelines and significant income growth at young ages."