No NIL money, no recruits. Reaction to Texas Longhorns group offering $50K to linemen.
As if the University of Texas athletics department didn’t already have enough money.
A new nonprofit group called Horns with Heart has announced it will offer every scholarship offensive lineman $50,000 a year starting next season.
They’re calling the program the “Pancake Factory,” after the term used for a dominating block by a lineman that puts the opposing player on his back.
Horns with Heart, the first charitable NIL entity, is proud to sponsor the Pancake Factory. Starting 8/1/22 all scholarship Offensive Linemen at the University of Texas will receive $50,000 annually ($800,000 combined) for use of their NIL and participating in charitable causes. pic.twitter.com/wS95v8STsP
— Horns with Heart (@hornswithheart) December 6, 2021
It’s hailed as the “first of its kind to support a football position group,” according to the group’s press release.
The players will be “empowered to make positive impacts on their communities and charities close to their hearts while utilizing their Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL),” the release said.
The Texas NIL law went into effect on July 1. It allows college athletes to earn money using their name and image.
“This has created a unique opportunity for a charitable program to be created that will benefit players, charitable causes, and the University of Texas all collaboratively, and Horns with Heart was created with exactly that purpose in mind,” the release said.
Everything is bigger in Texas.. #NIL https://t.co/cBhLure5Ug
— Darren Heitner (@DarrenHeitner) December 6, 2021
Linebacker was fun but excited to start this new chapter as an OL https://t.co/ulvfVe16U4
— Luke (@LBrockermeyer) December 6, 2021
This is one way to help the Longhorns build a better offensive line. https://t.co/UNOiTnFQWJ
— Danny Davis (@aasdanny) December 6, 2021
Former Texas defensive lineman Roy Miller III, a nine-year NFL veteran, echoed the sentiment of a lot of college football fans in a social media post on Twitter.
“I like that players are being paid. But there’s something about being in a state of learning and dreaming,” Miller said. “College used to be that place where most people were broke. I say put that money in a trust and pay a respectable salary out of it. Passion doesn’t often come in comfort.
Miller added, with words included for clarification: “One thing [is] for sure, no NIL $ [equals] no recruits.”
The group suggests “The Pancake Factory” is just the first of many “player-focused charitable programs” in the near future it will initiate, not only for other football players, but also with other Texas athletic teams, too.
A separate initiative called the Clark Field Collective was announced last week which pledged an initial $10 million commitment to NIL fundraising for Texas student-athletes. That group’s goal is to create the largest NIL fund for athletes in the county.
“The goal is to make these programs sustainably funded on a yearly basis into perpetuity,” the release said.
The Horns with Heart’s “Pancake Factory” program begins Aug. 1, 2022. As long as the scholarship offensive lineman remains eligible, he’ll receive payments totaling $50,000 for their participation in the initiative. Their participation will include charitable appearances and bringing awareness to causes in their local communities.
Big week for Texas NIL news. Getting serious.
— Burnt Orange Nation (@BON_SBNation) December 6, 2021
Attention recruits. The Texas NIL deal isn’t going to put a stack of hundos in your lunch bag. It won’t be thousands, hundreds of thousands, or a few mildo.
It is a $10,000,000, soon to be $100-300 million fund.
Come to Texas.
Learn sports.
Get paid real money. pic.twitter.com/f4BlCdadYm— Steve Quinnkisian (@Sharkisian) December 1, 2021
We better beef up the NIL efforts, because deals like this will have blue chippers lined up outside of Austin, Texas. This won’t be the last effort they put forth, either. https://t.co/BBz0B7hNOA
— (@soonersonly) December 6, 2021
One things for sure no NIL $ No recruits
— Roy Miller III (@Roy_Miller_III) December 6, 2021