Texas Tech collective offers $25,000 NIL contracts to 100 players, ranking among biggest team-wide deals

A collective at Texas Tech is promising to sign every scholarship player and a number of walk-ons to a $25,000 name, image and likeness (NIL) contract. The Matador Club, a collective run by five Texas Tech graduates, has proposed signing 100 players — all 85 scholarship players and 15 walk-ons — to one-year contracts that can be renewed heading into next season. More than 1,000 people have donated to the the collective, according to founding member Cody Campbell, co-CEO of DoublePoint Energy. 

“Collectives have done things a number of different ways,” Campbell told the Lubbock Avalanche-Journal. “You see some of them paying large amounts to individual players. You see others doing different things. But what we want to do, really, is support the entire program. This is kind of a base salary for the guys. They’re not going to be restricted from doing any other NIL stuff with anybody else. In fact, we’re going to encourage and help them to do that.

The collective contract ranks among one of the biggest team-wide deals in all of college football. Miami players were offered a contract of $500 a month by local fitness chain American Top Team last year. BYU’s walk-ons received an NIL scholarship that covered tuition by protein bar Built Brands, while scholarship players could receive $1,000. A Texas collective also offered $50,000 to offensive linemen through an alleged charity endeavor named “Horns with Heart.” 

However, Texas Tech’s ranks as perhaps the biggest offering for a full roster of players with expenses adding up to as much as $2.5 million. In exchange, players would be required to do community service around Lubbock and other West Texas cities. 

The announcement comes just days after Texas Tech released plans to build on $200 million football facility updates that include the end zone complex at Jones AT&T Stadium. 

The Matador Club claims it consulted with an NCAA attorney while setting up the rules and guidelines of the collective. However, the NCAA’s bylaws on compensation and booster involvement have not been tested meaningfully in the first year of NIL. 

“We’re not going to play that game,” Campbell said of recruiting inducements. “Now, I’m certain that when every player on our roster gets $25,000, it’s going to become known that Texas Tech has a good NIL program that’ll be appealing to recruits, but we’re not going to make any promises on the front end….