Longhorns earned $15.5M in NIL deals so far; new information now limited by Texas law

AUSTIN (KXAN/Austin Business Journal) -- In the two years since University of Texas student athletes were allowed to ink name, image and likeness deals, they've earned at least $15.5 million, according to reporting from the Austin Business Journal based on public records requests.

Most of the money -- $13, 579, 662 -- went toward football and men's basketball, but student athletes from 15 different sports reported 2,980 deals to the university as of June 30, ABJ reported. It added the total was $15,698,439 but that some information -- such as athlete names, businesses and specific amounts -- was redacted in its request to comply with the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act, so the list was incomplete. Part of a new Texas law will also make it harder to get information about NIL deals as it exempts the release of public information.

The NCAA adopted rules in 2021 that allowed student athletes to benefit from these NIL deals. Collectives like the Texas One Fund, which formed from five different NIL groups last year, focus on UT athletes. Former Longhorns running back Bijan Robinson, who was drafted to the Atlanta Falcons this year, had a number of NIL deals including with Austin Lamborghini.

Read more on the Austin Business Journal's website, including why an expert estimates UT may be one of the highest earners for NIL deals