Texas A&M Director of Athletics Trev Alberts shares vision for Aggie NIL

From Texas A&M Athletics:

Dear Aggies,

What a fantastic start it’s been to the 2025-26 athletic year, highlighted by our 3rd-ranked, 7-0 Fightin' Texas Aggie football team.

As Coach Mike Elko and our team stay locked in on each week’s challenge, my focus is on the future and how we can continue building the foundation that keeps every Aggie program competing for championships.

Over the past few months, following changes stemming from the House settlement, our staff has been hard at work developing a strategic plan to create a true competitive advantage for Texas A&M.

Right now, every athletics department across the country that opted into the House settlement is permitted to share up to $20.5 million each year directly with student-athletes across all athletic teams. All of those departments, including ours at Texas A&M, have made strategic decisions about how to allocate those dollars across programs.

Texas A&M has made the institutional decision to fund the entirety of what is allowed within the House settlement guidelines, including funding 154 new full scholarships, in addition to direct student-athlete NIL payments. But in this new landscape, that alone won’t be enough to compete at the highest level. That’s why we need the power of the 12th Man to help ensure Texas A&M remains the most attractive destination in the country for top student-athletes.

In addition to the $20.5 million in institutional support, all student-athletes have the opportunity to earn third-party NIL compensation—money earned through business deals with companies and brands.

This is where Texas A&M holds a distinct advantage through the unmatched size, loyalty, and influence of our former students, Aggie network, and fan base.

Texas A&M has a tremendous opportunity to help facilitate and generate third-party NIL opportunities for our student-athletes, creating competitive compensation that ensures top-tier talent across our rosters.

With that, we’re excited to share today our vision for Aggie NIL, an all-encompassing program designed to maximize and facilitate third-party NIL opportunities for Texas A&M student-athletes. Aggie NIL will be led by Zac Phillips, Texas A&M’s Senior Associate AD for NIL Strategy and Development.

Aggie NIL will operate through four integrated units, each designed to strengthen a different pillar of our NIL ecosystem:

Playfly Max – A revenue-generating business unit tasked with identifying, cultivating, and facilitating sponsorship deals between businesses and Aggie student-athletes. Playfly Max is a first-of-its-kind revenue engine dedicated to unlocking untapped NIL potential through sponsorships, fan engagement activities, and membership clubs. Playfly Max will utilize vendors such as Student-Athlete Score to provide real time insights into athlete brand value, audience engagement, and NIL partnership opportunities.

Texas Aggies United – The existing NIL collective will continue operating with a renewed focus on business-to-business relationships, where Aggie-owned companies can partner with The LinkU to expand revenue, increase profits, or achieve efficiencies and cost savings. By participating, businesses can create significant value while simultaneously amplifying their support for Texas A&M student-athletes.

TexAgs – TexAgs recently announced the expansion of its NIL content vertical, with the addition of five new NIL interview series for a total of six that are now dedicated to telling the stories of your favorite student-athletes. Currently, all Texas Aggies United members will have access to the content.

A&Mplify – An internal Athletics unit focused on supporting student-athletes through NIL education, mentorship, financial literacy, and brand building. This also includes Athletics’ partnership with the Mays Business School to provide student-athletes with educational and experiential opportunities that enable them to develop business acumen and activate a professional network.

Third-party NIL is critical to our long-term success as an athletic program, and it was essential to create a unified structure to maximize these opportunities for our student-athletes.

Now, you may be asking—how can you support? What can you do to help make third-party NIL a true advantage for Texas A&M Athletics? Whether you’re a small business owner, an avid supporter, or a current NIL contributor, there’s a role for every member of the 12th Man.

How You Can Support Aggie NIL

• Partner with Playfly Max – The team at Playfly Max can identify ways Texas A&M student-athletes can serve as brand ambassadors for your business to drive more revenue and support student-athletes. Contact Jon Bishop ('93) at 979-497-6127 for more information or email AggieNIL@playfly.com.

• Participate in Aggie NIL Programs/Events – Attend and join upcoming fan engagement opportunities where you can interact directly with our student-athletes. Stay tuned for more information.

• Become a Member – Get access to each of the six new NIL content verticals, powered by TexAgs. Join now to enjoy exclusive student-athlete content.

• Purchase NIL Merchandise/Product – Support student-athletes directly through officially licensed NIL products.

• Purchase on our Fanatics NIL Shop
• Purchase through Athlete’s Thread
• On It Trading Cards

• Follow our Student-Athletes on Social Media – The larger following they have, the more valuable many of their third-party NIL deals will be.

Together, we have an opportunity to make Texas A&M the national leader in this new era of college athletics. By aligning our resources, creativity, and passion behind Aggie NIL, we can ensure that Texas A&M continues to attract, develop, and retain championship-caliber student-athletes who represent the values of the 12th Man.

Thank you for your continued loyalty, generosity, and belief in Texas A&M Athletics.

Gig ’em,

Trev Alberts
Director of Athletics