Texas A&M Expanding In-House NIL Opportunities For Aggies Student-Athletes
Despite having one of the most ambitious Name, Image and Likeness collectives in the country in The 12th Man+ Fund, the Texas A&M Aggies are expanding on their university-sanctioned NIL opportunities.
New Texas state law passed Saturday that will allow in-state colleges, themselves, to get more involved in the NIL moneymaking process for its athletes and to provide perks, like priority points, for donors. Texas A&M announced Saturday that an extension of the university's NIL program, AMPLIFY, will help student-athletes directly facilitate deals with companies, businesses and brands through its AMPLIFY Exchange program.
"This new unit will focus on the holistic development of our athletes," athletics director Ross Bjork said in a video. "Now, we can identify, create and provide more assistance for athletes in seeking NIL opportunities across the entire marketplace."
The AMPLIFY Exchange program will be led by assistant athletics director of NIL Jamie Wood and provide a database that features several different searchable categories and filters for interested businesses in striking an NIL deal with an Aggies student-athlete, according to its website. So, for example, if Nike hypothetically wanted to partner with a track and field athlete for a new shoe debut, it could use the AMPLIFY Exchange database to find the right athlete they want to pay to have promote the sneaker.
For a business or brand to be approved to the AMPLIFY Exchange program, they must first register and be approved by Texas A&M's NIL Unit, according to its website.
Texas A&M will also be upgrading its membership with INFLCR to INFLCR+ in order to give its athletes the full package of amenities the app has to offer, its website stated. INFLCR helps student-athletes in their self-branding on social media through various breakdowns of engagement totals, among other perks.
With Texas A&M's Fanatics partnership, fans can purchase a customized football, men's or women's basketball jersey of available student-athletes.
Texas A&M also projects completion of the Adam Sinn Academic and Wellness Center for its student-athletes in fall 2024, which will have an "NIL suite" on the first floor, Bjork said.
"The NIL suite will include meeting spaces, new technology and a studio for content creation that will enhance the ability for our athletes to market themselves," Bjork said in the video. "Given all of this, our mission to create opportunities through championship athletics and our vision to be the pinnacle of those opportunities remains steadfast. Without the support of the 12th Man, none of this would be possible."
The only caveat is that the NCAA's NIL legislation and policies overrules that of any state's NIL legislation and policies, so as long as Texas A&M's newly enhanced NIL program doesn't violate NCAA ruling, the Aggies are off to the races on the NIL forefront.
You can follow Casey Smith on Twitter @casey_smith2419
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