Baylor forms NIL advisory council, endorses GXG

Baylor is taking steps to set its student-athletes up for NIL success.

The athletic department announced the formation of a NIL advisory council on Monday. Consisting of six members, the unit will be involved in making NIL decisions and leading initiatives for the institution.

The group will also be focused on its partnership with StartUp Waco CEO Jon Passavant and former Baylor quarterback Cody Carlson to manage funds directed to GXG. The NIL platform serves as a marketplace, connecting student-athletes to NIL opportunities in the local economy. It also accepts donations.

Chaired by Mark McCollum, Kevin Cherry, Jeremy Fudge, Cary Gray, Larry Heard and Dan Hord also sit on the council. All are business leaders and Baylor graduates. Because of the NCAA’s latest NIL guidance, Baylor is able to endorse and promote GXG.

Startup Waco was founded in 2018. The organization’s mission has been to provide needed resources to entrepreneurs and startups in the Waco and McLennan County communities. It believes the same goal can be accomplished in the name, image and likeness space.

Back in October, Startup Waco executed a team-wide NIL deal with Baylor’s football team. While the full details of the contract were not disclosed to On3, sources said the total amount of cash given to the athletes reached seven figures. All 112 members of the team were allowed to opt in.

In exchange for payment, players promoted GXG on their social media platforms. Progage, a Dallas-based sports marketing agency, loads NIL deals onto the exchange from a range of companies.

More details on GXG, Baylor

Outside of a YOKE NIL Club at Baylor, the Bears do not have a very active collective scene. Which only places more importance on what GXG can accomplish for athletes.

For starters, the long-term goal is to strike team-wide NIL deals with each program at Baylor. The GXG page also accepts donations, which are tax-deductible because of Start Up Waco’s 501(c)(3) status. All cash raised will go to athletes or future NIL projects.

Baylor’s NIL council will now manage funds directed to GXG, too.

“When I found out that the laws in Texas are very different than other states where the school kind of has their hand tied in a lot of aspects, I approached my partner and basically said, ‘Hey, man, this could be an area where we can actually really help the athletes,’” Jacob Kehoe, who serves as Start Up Waco’s assistant director and capital access manager, previously told On3. “That’s how it started. We didn’t set out to be a collective. We weren’t founded on the goal of passing through money.

“Our goal really is, at the end of the day, we want to see the student-athletes actually start businesses and launch brands.”