© Aaron E. Martinez / American-Statesman / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images
The Texas A&M University athletic department is one of the most financially powerful in all of college athletics. On top of that, the Aggies have an extremely dedicated support system that contributes to its massive NIL budget.
Unfortunately, for those Texas A&M athletes who participate in women’s sports, it seems as if they don’t get to get their hands on much of that aforementioned NIL budget.
Alex Miller of the Bryan-College Station Eagle reports that Texas A&M athletes received a jaw-dropping $51.4 million in combined NIL compensation from July of 2024 through June of 2025. But of that $51.4 million, only $2.2 million went to women’s athletes, while men received $49.2.
Broken down into percentages, athletes in women’s sports received just 4.2 percent of the overall NIL share, compared to 95.8 percent for their men’s sports counterparts. Of course, athletes in women’s sports represent 50 percent of all college athletes on campus per Title IX requirements.
Texas A&M’s NIL Share Split Could Be Ruled Illegal In The Future
Interestingly, the Federal Department of Education stated in January that revenue share from schools needed to be distributed with Title IX in mind. However, that ruling was quickly changed when Donald Trump assumed office later that month.
The Aggies had several successful women’s programs in 2024-25, including a softball program that reached No. 1 in the country and split the SEC championship with Oklahoma.
Meanwhile, eight female athletes recently appealed the NCAA settlement set to pay out $2.7B in backpay to college athletes, claiming that the agreement violates federal antidiscrimination law
“We support a settlement of the case, but not an inaccurate one that violates federal law. The calculation of past damages is based on an error that ignores Title IX and deprives female athletes of $1.1 billion,” attorney Ashlyn Hare said in a statement. “Paying out the money as proposed would be a massive error that would cause irreparable harm to women’s sports.”
Should the appeal succeed, it would not specifically affect Texas A&M’s previous payouts. But it could well set precedent for future cases that determine how schools compensate athletes.