Texas
Behind the Toxic Backside of NIL Payouts, How Aggies Will Be Affected
Jackie Sherrill’s legacy is already long-cemented in Texas A&M Aggies history, but its lasting effects — and the pride that comes with it in Aggieland — could be in jeopardy.
Reading that isn’t something that Sherrill, nor any of past or present Aggie had ever hoped to see. In an ideal world, the simple beauty that made up Texas A&M’s No. 1 tradition, The 12th Man, wouldn’t ever be touched.
It couldn’t be.
Unfortunately, that’s proven to not be the case. After the NCAA reached a settlement with Arizona State swimmer Grant House four years after the suit was filed — a motion that’s set to improve athletes’ college experiences tenfold with name, image and likeness implications — there was, inevitably, fallout.
Initially, the NCAA’s settlement being approved by the Power 5 conferences was an overwhelmingly positive thing. In a way, it still is. But Texas A&M, as it usually is, is in a different position. One of the lesser-considered impacts is likely to impact it more than any other school in the country.
Here’s what that means.
With the House v. NCAA settlement, athletes are now able to receive direct compensation from their universities for their labor.
It’s a simple idea: players can benefit from royalties coming from their name, image and likeness on anything related to NCAA football video games and commercials and they can sign NIL deals with outside parties with no penalty. That wasn’t possible before.
In other words, being a collegiate athlete will likely begin to pay the bills.
And for players over the last 10 years who didn’t get that same luxury, they’ll be receiving some nice surprises in check format very soon. That likely includes former Aggies like Myles Garrett, Alex Caruso, and even Kellen Mond.
The NCAA’s willingness to settle prevented it from having to shell out more than $4 billion to every athlete ever inconvenienced by being unable to profit from their name or their work. It admitted its mistakes and has given athletes the ability to treat their time making money for their respective conferences and the association as a true job.
But how will the money be distributed?
Well, each year, schools from every conference will set aside $20 million dollars to distribute to their players, courtesy of the conference. For the SEC, that’s almost pocket change. It’ll make that and more, so in a way it seems to be a win-win. Athletes get money, and the conference still profits.
That’s easier said than done for a mega conference like the SEC, but the disparity in earnings from schools in smaller conferences is another battle that will likely continue to be fought. It’s the reason that Texas and Oklahoma wanted to come to the SEC, and why the Pac-12 no longer exists.
It’s a brutal business. Between the transfer portal and now the athletes’ right to pay, college athletics will look wildly different from what it once was. Yet, it’s not even that part of it that puts the Aggies’ traditions in danger. It’s actually one of the miniscule details. The minutiae.
NOV. 18 — As Sam Mathews stood in place awaiting a kickoff during his Aggies’ rout of the Abilene Christian Wildcats late in the regular season, he was in a unique position.
Mathews’ jersey number was obvious. He proudly wore No. 12 in honor of “The 12th Man.” As the tale goes, E. King Gill was a spectator in the crowd in College Station during a home game in 1922. He was a former football player, but no longer suited up for the Aggies after leaving the team.
But, this particular afternoon, those same Aggies were depleted. Numerous injuries were threatning to put the game in forfeit territory for Texas A&M, and Gill was asked to suit up on the off chance that he’d be needed. So, he did.
Gill stood proudly on the sideline as the Aggies’ 12th Man. He never played, but that wasn’t the point.
He was ready.
Mathews was, too — only 102 years later. The circumstances looked vastly different, but he was the coveted walk-on player designated No. 12 by Texas A&M. Before him, it was a graduate named Connor Choate. Before Choate, it was Braden White and so forth.
That one player achieved a special status as a walk-on, but if you go back far enough, you reach Jackie Sherrill. And that was the year he had 11 walk-ons cover kickoffs for the entire season.
Sherrill made history with his 12th Man Kickoff Team. He gave numerous Aggies a chance to proudly support their school in a way unique to them, and they were eternally grateful for it.
“Coach Sherrill made his mark on [so many] lives,” former 12th Man Kickoff Team member Brian Carpenter said of Sherrill. “There is nothing that any of us can do to truly give back to him as much as he has given to each of us, but all of us would die trying if asked.
“We are all in debt to him.”
With the House v. NCAA settlement, an 85-man roster cap is likely to be imposed. Texas A&M hasn’t utilized an entire walk-on kickoff team the way that Sherrill did in years, but it certainly is used to having many more than 85 players — many of them walk-ons.
That’s part of why current Aggies coach Mike Elko was up in arms upon learning that news in the aftermath of the settlement.
“I’m strongly against it,” he said. “I think it’s absolutely against college football, what it stands for and what it’s about. I think that would be a major problem, especially, when you look at the legacies of Texas A&M kids that are going to get the opportunity to play football at Texas A&M potentially taken away from them.
“That’s something’s really bad for the sport.”
He’s right. Taking away walk-ons in favor of profit — or rather, in the wake of profit — in turn takes away history. It takes away chances for Texas A&M students to support their Fightin’ Texas Aggies.
Sherrill might not be the coach for the Aggies anymore, but since he and R.C. Slocum left, the school has done nothing but honor them, just as it honors all of its traditions that make it what it is.
Now, that core piece of history and tradition is in danger.
So, yes. Texas A&M players, along with every other collegiate athlete across the country, will begin to get paid for their labor.
But for the Aggies, is that worth it?
Unfortunately, it doesn’t seem up to them.
None of this really was.
Charles Thompson, who once briefly escaped custody after being sentenced to death, is scheduled to be executed Wednesday evening for the 1998 double murder of his former girlfriend and her friend.
Thompson had gotten into an altercation at his then-girlfriend Dennise Hayslip’s apartment in Houston with her and her friend, Darren Cain, before a police officer escorted Thompson off the property, according to court records. Early the next morning, Thompson returned to the apartment, killing Cain and shooting Hayslip in the mouth. Hayslip was life-flighted to a nearby hospital, where she died a week later.
Thompson was charged with capital murder for killing Cain and Hayslip and sentenced to death in 1999. In 2001, his death sentence was vacated by the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals after judges ruled the Harris County District Attorney’s Office had unconstitutionally used an undercover investigator to obtain evidence for the trial. Thompson was given a new sentencing hearing, where a jury again sentenced him to death in 2005.
While Thompson does not dispute shooting Cain, he has said the man attacked him first and he acted defensively. Thompson has also asserted that Hayslip would have survived her wounds, which partially severed her tongue, had it not been for her receiving an improper intubation while at the hospital.
Days after his resentencing, Thompson escaped from the Harris County Jail by switching into the civilian clothes he had worn to resentencing hearings and posed as an employee with the state Attorney General’s Office. The escape led to a three-day manhunt that ended with Thompson being caught drunk in Louisiana.
Thompson filed a new appeal and a request for a stay of execution with the CCA on Jan. 21 that called into question the efficacy of his legal counsel during trial. It also asserted Thompson’s previous claim that the hospital’s alleged improper intubation of Hayslip ultimately killed her. Included in the new filing was an affidavit from a doctor who testified during Thompson’s trial about Hayslip’s cause of death, stating she would withdraw her trial testimony and instead assert medical complications were the cause of death.
The CCA has yet to rule on the stay request or the appeal. The U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear a previous federal habeas corpus appeal from Thompson in 2021.
If executed, Thompson will be the first person put to death in the United States this year, and is one of four men in Texas with currently scheduled executions. Thompson will also be the 136th person Harris County has executed since the death penalty was reinstated in 1976. The county has executed more people than any other state, and in 2025 sentenced its 300th person to death.
Texas’ use of the death penalty has dwindled for years as new death sentences and executions per year have remained in the single digits for more than a decade.
Cedric Ricks is the next person scheduled for execution in Texas on March 11. Ricks was convicted of capital murder in 2014 for stabbing his common-law wife and her 8-year-old son to death in their Fort Worth apartment.
Roads across North Texas have been in poor condition since temperatures dropped Friday night, and while TXDOT and local crews have been working around the clock, many neighborhoods are still dealing with sheets of ice.
In Fort Worth, the difference between major highways and city streets is easy to see. I‑30 looked nearly clear after TXDOT began pretreating it last Wednesday, well before any ice or snow arrived. But nearby city‑maintained roads remained slick. Each city and county is responsible for its own streets, which means some neighborhoods are still waiting for crews to reach them.
Warmer temperatures Tuesday helped speed up the process.
Fort Worth and Tarrant County crews spent the day spreading salt and sand to give drivers traction. The city said it doesn’t have traditional snowplows like those used in northern states, but workers have been using skid steers to scrape away the thick layer of ice that’s been stuck to the pavement.
Road conditions improved significantly throughout the day, but officials urged drivers to stay cautious.
City urges drivers to slow down
“If you are needing to leave your home and get out on the neighborhood streets and on to roads to travel, please go very slowly,” said Lara Ingram, a spokesperson for Fort Worth’s Transportation & Public Works Department. “Some neighborhood roads may be 35 mph. Fifteen to 20 mph is fast enough.”
Crews focused Tuesday on hospitals, major thoroughfares and the area around Dickies Arena to keep the Stock Show & Rodeo accessible.
The city is asking residents to remain patient as workers continue moving through neighborhoods.
Editor’s note: To help readers learn more about primary candidates, The Texas Tribune is sharing background information on top candidates. In particularly crowded races, we focused on candidates who have political experience or prominence. For a full list of the candidates running in this race view our primary ballot page. For more information on the primaries and the voting process, check out our voter guide here.
About this seat: The Texas Agriculture Commissioner is the chief advocate for Texas’s agriculture industry. Under the commissioner’s purview, the Texas Department of Agriculture regulates the state’s agriculture industry, including cattle, grain, plants, pesticides, hemp and organic operations. The department provides agribusiness support, promotes Texas products and advocates for policies at the state and federal level that help farmers and ranchers. It also administers the National School Lunch Program to public schools. The department works on economic development in rural areas and provides disaster relief to farmers. The department also ensures that price scanners and scales are all accurate to ensure consumers are paying an accurate price for these items when they purchase them.
What’s at stake: Agriculture is the second largest industry in the state and Texas is home to more than 230,000 farms, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. In 2024, it was the 6th largest state exporter of agricultural products. Farmers and ranchers are on the frontlines of economic pressures, the effects of climate change, and labor and supply chain disruptions and it’s the responsibility of the state agriculture commissioner to regulate farmers from a consumer protection standpoint, while providing support and funding to farms that are economic engines in rural areas of the state.
Candidates at a Glance:
💰 Campaign finance:
💰 Major donors this cycle:
- Philip Oshotse, owner of Houston African grocery store – $60,000
- Joe Cavender, owner of Cavender’s boots – $5,000
- Stan Graff, owner at El Dorado Motors – $10,000
- Kent Hance, former U.S. Rep. and chancellor of Texas Tech University System – $10,000
Experience:
-
First elected agriculture commissioner in 2014, and reelected twice in 2018 and 2022
-
12 years in the Texas House of Representatives
-
Graduate of Tarleton State University in Stephenville, where he lives and owns a tree nursery
-
Breeds horses and is a rodeo cowboy
Political ideology: Miller is known as a staunch MAGA conservative with a fiery personality and a loyal supporter of President Donald Trump. He is a Christian who often rails against Islam and leftist politics on social media. He’s against diversity, equity and inclusion policies and in 2023, he ordered employees to dress “in a manner consistent with their biological gender,” a move that was viewed as anti-transgender.
Policy stances:
-
Increasing water security in Texas
-
Defending agriculture from invasive pests and disease
-
Enhancing local food pride through the agency’s Go Texan brand program
-
Ensure farm and ranchland is not affected by the expansion of data centers in Texas
-
Supports legalization of marijuana for medical purposes
In the news:
Endorsements:
-
Railroad Commissioner Wayne Christian
-
Ted Nugent, a guitarist and singer
How to contact or learn more:
campaign@sidmiller.com
6407 S US Hwy 377
Stephenville, TX 76401
💰 Campaign finance:
💰 Major donors this cycle:
- Houston furniture store owner Mattress Mack – $10,000
- Sen. Kevin Sparks, a Republican from Midland and family – $13,000
- The Saulsbury Family, owners of Saulsbury Industries oil and gas company in Odessa and former donors of Sid Miller’s campaign – $25,000
Experience:
-
Texan business and ranch owner
-
Served for six years in the U.S. Naval Reserve before he graduated from Texas State University
-
He and his wife founded a honey company called Nature Nate’s, which became famous for its raw and unfiltered honey. He sold the company in 2021 and resigned as CEO in 2024 to run for agriculture commissioner.
-
Previously worked as communications director for E3 Partners, an evangelist ministry organization that establishes new Christian congregations around the world
Political ideology: Sheets is a conservative Christian and self-declared member of the MAHA (Make American Healthy Again) movement, which was inspired by Trump administration Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Nature Nate’s Honey emphasized testing to ensure the honey didn’t contain pesticides or herbicides, and Sheets has said his experience leading the company shaped his views on healthy eating.
Policy stances:
-
Helping Texas farmers grow and produce clean and healthy food at home and in the state’s public schools
-
Boost job opportunities in the agriculture industry in rural areas of the state
-
Work with the Legislature to ensure Texas has the power to investigate agro terrorists who might spread pathogens that could damage state agriculture production
In the news:
Endorsements:
-
Texas Farm Bureau, Texas Cattlefeeders Association
-
Former U.S. Sen. Rick Santorum, a Republican from Pennsylvania
How to contact or learn more:
campaign@natesheets.com
💰 Campaign finance:
💰 Major donors this cycle:
- Jim Hightower, former Texas Agriculture Commissioner from 1983 to 1991 – $1,000
Experience:
-
Grew up working on his family’s ranch in Lampasas
-
Fair trade organizer for the Trade Justice Education Fund, a left-leaning non-profit that promotes awareness of the impact of trade on public health and the environment.
Political ideology: Tucker spent his early career working as a Democratic political campaign organizer. He is an active member of the Texas Democrats and a member of the Texas Progressive Caucus.
Policy stances:
-
Preserving family farms
-
Lowering the cost of food and removing chemicals from food
-
Stop the spread of microplastics and regulate dangerous chemicals like PFAS
-
Protect Texas from the growth of data centers across the state and “bust monopolies”
Endorsements:
-
U.S. Rep. Jamie Raskin, a Democrat from Maryland
-
Many Democratic state representatives
How to contact or learn more:
info@claytontuckertx.com
PO Box 1059
Lampasas, TX 76550
Disclosure: Texas Cattle Feeders Association and Texas Tech University System have been financial supporters of The Texas Tribune, a nonprofit, nonpartisan news organization that is funded in part by donations from members, foundations and corporate sponsors. Financial supporters play no role in the Tribune’s journalism. Find a complete list of them here.
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