Multimedia partnerships are taking college sports by storm — reshaping the landscape of athletic revenue along the way.
Following the lead of several programs across the country, Florida State recently forged a groundbreaking multimedia partnership with Legends. But Texas A&M has just raised the bar even higher, announcing a historic 15-year, $515 million deal with Playfly Sports that will begin in 2026.
This new deal comes as the Aggies’ existing agreement with Learfield, a 10-year extension that started in July 2015, was set to expire — though no contract was broken in the process, reports the Sports Business Journal.
Described as “fully guaranteed” by Billy Liucci of TexasAgs.com, this is the largest multimedia rights deal of its kind in college athletics. Thanks to this massive partnership, A&M’s annual revenue will more than double, jumping from $18 million to a staggering $34 million.
BREAKING: Per sources, Texas A&M set to announce a game-changing agreement in the multi-media rights space, inking a 15-year, $515-million, fully-guaranteed deal with Playfly Sports.
A&M jumps from $18mm to $34mm annually, thanks to the largest such deal in college athletics.
— Billy Liucci (@billyliucci) February 28, 2025
Texas A&M now joins Playfly’s impressive roster of high-profile programs, which includes Penn State, Virginia Tech and—notably —Nebraska. Playfly secured its deal with Nebraska during Trev Alberts’ tenure as athletic director, and with Alberts now in the same role at Texas A&M, his connection to this new partnership is especially significant.
“Having prior experience with Trev was really important and, vice versa, is just a familiarity with a shared mindset really around approaching the future of college athletics,” Christy Hedgpeth, president of Playfly Sports Properties, told Sports Business Journal. “We’ve always had an alignment and shared values around being really focused on unlocking full revenue potential and fan engagement. And that’s very refreshing. Trev, he’s very much focused on not only the mission of college athletics but also he’s a realist and a business person.”
As Texas A&M secures its place at the forefront of college sports’ multimedia revolution, this deal marks a pivotal moment for the industry. The Aggies are seemingly enhancing their financial outlook and setting a new standard for how universities engage with multimedia rights.
And because of that, it wouldn’t be surprising to see other high-profile programs follow the same blueprint.
About Sam Neumann
Since the beginning of 2023, Sam has been a staff writer for Awful Announcing and The Comeback. A 2021 graduate of Temple University, Sam is a Charlotte native, who currently calls Greenville, South Carolina his home. He also has a love/hate relationship with the New York Mets and Jets.