These 10Texas college athletes earn the most off their NIL rights

After years of legal and legislative wrangling, college athletes finally began making money off their own names, images and likenesses (NIL) in July 2021. In the years since, we’ve seen many young stars who once could have been suspended for accepting a free meal or pair of sneakers become legal, legit millionaires.

When we originally ran this list in 2024, colleges were still not allowed to pay athletes directly, but that has changed with a recent court ruling.

Sure, the vast majority of college athletes rely on small, local marketing deals to make a few bucks. However, in this influencer age, athletes are also now making money for sponsored social media posts by the boatload.

A step above that, however, it’s been reported that the average college football player at a school in one of the “Power 5” conferences (Big 10, Big 12, SEC, ACC, Pac 12) will likely earn between $10,000 and $100,000 per year thanks to the deep pockets of what are called “NIL collectives,” groups of school donors that pool their money to pay players on their school’s team. But make no mistake, the money goes well beyond that. Let’s just say plenty of athletes have lots of money left over after picking up the bill for their friends at the local McDonald’s.

As you might guess, Texas has more than its fair share of athletes breaking the NIL bank these days, especially when it comes to the state’s top football programs.

Given the billions of dollars that college athletics generate every year, it’s nearly impossible to argue against the athletes making a few bucks, so the new NIL era is a success in that regard. But according to 1310 The Ticket’s Matt McClearin, who also writes about sports for the Observer, the big spending may have also served to make an old problem a bit worse.

“NIL has made the gap between the haves and have-nots bigger than ever,” he says. “It’s great that kids get paid, I love it, but it’s the Wild West now. No one knows how to regulate it, so the rich truly are richer.”

The list of Texas college athletes making more than $1 million continues to increase dramatically. The entire top 10 now features athletes making at least $2.5 million. Oddly enough, Texas QB Arch Manning, who sat at the top of the national NIL list a year ago, is now not only not No. 1 in the U.S., but is only making enough to land him at No. 10 in Texas. Life comes at these fellas fast, doesn’t it? A coupel og quarterbacks who played for Texas schools last year are now making big bucks from out-os-state instuttions, with former UNT QB Drew Mestermaker getting $3.5 million from Oklahoma State and former TCU star Josh Hoover netting $4 million from Indiana.

But who is slated to make the most in NIL money in Texas this year? Check out the list below to find out.*