UT football players have made over $6M since June

University of Texas football players — and student-athletes in general — are reaping millions of dollars from their success, per data analyzed by Axios

Why it matters: Four years into the name-image-likeness era , the data, obtained through open records requests, shows how some student-athletes are realizing their earning potential.

• For generations, players were shut out from the lucrative Division I sports-and-money machine.

The big picture: The NIL explosion comes just as UT sports increase their media exposure with a move to the Southeastern Conference.

• On Saturday, the top-ranked Longhorns play 18th-ranked Oklahoma in the Red River Rivalry game.
• On Oct. 19, UT takes on fifth-ranked Georgia in Austin.
• Both games will be nationally televised.

By the numbers: From June 1 through early October, UT football players competing on an undefeated squad now ranked No. 1 in the country had earned $6.1 million.

• That amount was spread over 2,094 deals, or an average of about $3,000 per deal, which can range from a social media post promoting a beverage to an appearance at a hospital organized by a collective of boosters.
• Much of the money appears to be tied up in major deals with quarterbacks Quinn Ewers and Arch Manning.

Zoom in: Ewers, for example, reportedly signed a six-figure deal with apparel firm Rhoback in August.

• Ewers and Oklahoma quarterback Michael Hawkins Jr. are starring in a new social media campaign for Dr Pepper ahead of their head-to-head matchup.

Flashback: Between Aug. 1, 2023, and April 30, 2024, UT football players earned $5.86 million in NIL money, per data obtained by Axios, finishing with a 12-2 record and winning the Big 12 championship.

• Over the same period, UT men's basketball players earned $1.82 million, baseball players $375,000 and women's volleyball players $256,000.

By contrast: UT football players earned just shy of $880,000 in endorsements from August 2021 through April 2022, NIL's first year.

• Over the same time period, women's softball earned $295,790; women's swimming and diving team members, $259,402; men's swimming and diving team members, $245,100; and men's basketball players earned $158,585.

Yes, but: That year the Longhorns went 5-7.

What they're saying: The increase in the value of NIL deals for UT football players and other student-athletes is driven by success on the field, broad growth in the NIL market and UT's shift to the SEC, Bill Carter, founder of NIL education and consultancy firm Student-Athlete Insights , tells Axios.

• "As the team competes in more high-stakes games, especially with the move to the SEC, opportunities for NIL deals grow," Carter says.
• "The more Saturday afternoons Quinn Ewers plays, the more people in our gigantic country know who he is," he says.

Plus: "Fans are more engaged with student-athletes than ever before, particularly on social media," he says. "This creates a demand for brands to partner with these athletes."

Zoom out: The total projected NIL market has grown from $917 million in 2021–22 to an expected $1.67 billion in 2024–25, per a July report from Opendorse , a firm that helps athletes connect with brands.

What's next: The Longhorns play the Sooners in Dallas on Saturday at 2:30pm on ABC.

The bottom line: "Brands want to capitalize on the visibility that comes with high-profile matchups," Carter says.