Report: Texas A&M athletes topped $4 million in NIL deals

Thanks to the public spat between Texas A&M coach Jimbo Fisher and Alabama coach Nick Saban, no school has been in the national NIL spotlight more than the Aggies. And according to a report from Travis L. Brown of the Bryan College Station Eagle, it appears Texas A&M student-athletes made significant bank during Year One of NIL.

Brown reported Aggie student-athletes received more than $4 million in NIL compensation since it was made legal on July 1, 2021. He also found – according to university-tracked information obtained by The Eagle through the Texas Open Records Act – that the football team led the way with more than $3.3 million in NIL deals.

The report found the final tally of all NIL deals secured by Texas A&M student-athletes was $4,173,656.82 during the first academic year NIL deals were allowed by Texas state law and NCAA rules. Of that combined total, football student-athletes earned a whopping $3,367,517.52. The Aggies’ men’s basketball team was next with $472,735 in NIL deals. Baseball student-athletes at Texas A&M received $198,078 total compensation, according to the report. Brown reported softball was A&M’s highest-earning women’s sport at $35,337.

NIL a lightning rod subject at Texas A&M

Texas A&M officially landed the best recruiting class ever in February. The Aggies enrolled nine On3 Consensus five-star recruits, including three of the top 10 recruits in defensive linemen Walter Nolen and Shemar Stewart and wide receiver Evan Stewart. Yet, Saban revealed NIL’s warts to the national audience when he alleged A&M “bought every player on their team. Made a deal for Name, Image and Likeness”

Fisher clapped back by calling a now-infamous press conference in which threw verbal jabs like, “Maybe somebody should have slapped him” and “Some people think they’re God.” Go dig into how ‘God’ did his deal.” Texas A&M administrators even tried to get Saban suspended by the SEC. 

The spat between Fisher and Saban was college football’s talking point of the summer. Many insiders believe it was their words that sparked the NCAA to finally start to look into NIL dealmakers.

Even though not much is known publicly, A&M also has one of the most ambitious collectives in the country. A&M’s collective – deemed “The Fund” by organizers and donors – has been operating under the radar.

While other collectives have splashy websites and active social media accounts, The Fund operates in obscurity. No founders are listed anywhere. No annual goals are available. In fact, investors in The Fund told The Athletic they didn’t understand why boosters in other collectives feel the need to advertise their groups. The Fund operators feel word-of-mouth will be plenty to ensure the people they’ll work with know what is available.

Amounts raised aren’t publicly available, but insiders say The Fund has generated tens of millions of dollars. Many have linked the success of The Fund with A&M officially landing the best-ever recruiting class. Even if it didn’t there’s little doubt the collective has caught the attention of the college sports world.

Texas NIL laws

Texas has one of the most restrictive NIL laws in the country.

According to Senate Bill 1385, Texas included provisions within their act to prevent student-athletes from using school logos, among others. There’s been plenty of frustrations shared about the law. The Texas legislative cycle inhibits any major amendment activity unless a special session were to be called. The law also requires student-athletes in Texas to provide contract documentation of every NIL deal to their university athletics compliance office. While the university can not particpate in the brokering of NIL deals, school officials can review the contracts to make sure the terms fall under the law’s guidelines.