Texas One Fund Strikes NIL Partnership with WME Sports

Longhorns prepare for SEC move, expand NIL opportunities for student-athletes

The Texas Longhorns are preparing for their move from the Big 12 Conference to the SEC next July.

The Longhorns and their preferred NIL collective, the Texas One Fund, are ensuring they have the funds to compete in football’s most competitive conference.

On Tuesday, the Texas One Fund announced it had agreed to a deal with WME Sports, that is expected to expand NIL opportunities for all Longhorn student-athletes.

In the early days of NIL, Texas had several collectives. In November of 2022, five of the largest combined into the Texas One Fund.

“This partnership between the Texas One Fund and WME Sports brings together two powerhouses." Texas Athletic Director Chris Del Conte said. "Our student-athletes are best in class, and this partnership will supercharge NIL opportunities available to them.” 

“This partnership between the Texas One Fund and WME Sports brings together two powerhouses…our student-athletes are best in class, and this partnership will supercharge NIL opportunities available to them.” - Chris Del Conte 🤘#HookEm

— Texas Longhorns (@TexasLonghorns) December 12, 2023

"This will be a best in class partnership," said Mark Shapiro, President and COO of Endeavor. "The combination of WME Sports' industry leading expertise in the space, the scale of the greater Endeavor portfolio which includes IMG and 160over90, and the attraction of the iconic Longhorns collegiate athletic program, makes for an undeniably compelling offering for student athletes in Austin."

WME Sports represents athletes, consults on sports media, naming rights and other sports business avenues. The firm recently signed a similar deal with a Notre Dame collective. WME is owned by Endeavor, which is one of the leading talent agencies in the world. That should help Texas student-athletes find better deals in the NIL space.

On the NIL athlete representation side, WME clients include Livvy Dunne of LSU, Maya Brady of UCLA, Sam Hurley of Texas and Deja Kelly of North Carolina, among others.

The deal has the blessing of the Texas athletic department and WME will house a sales team in Austin to work with the Texas One Fund and student-athletes.

The deal comes at a time in which the Longhorns football team is preparing for the College Football Playoff on New Year’s Day against Washington in the Sugar Bowl. The women’s volleyball team also advanced to the Final Four and will attempt to defend its national championship later this month.

The Longhorn football team has some of the highest-valued players in NIL in the game, as valued by On3.com. That includes quarterback Arch Manning, who isn’t expected to play in the Sugar Bowl, but has a valuation of nearly $3 million.

The starter at quarterback Quinn Ewers, has a valuation of more than $1 million.

Other players, such as offensive linemen Kelvin Banks and Christian Jones, along with wide receiver Xavier Worthy, have valuations better than $700,000.