Mike Elko declines to answer if he asked for more NIL money in his contract extension

Amidst an undefeated season, Texas A&M wanted to make sure Mike Elko is not heading anywhere. Elko recently signed a contract extension to remain in College Station for the foreseeable future. It might only be his second season with the program but everyone can now put any rumors of him leaving to bed.

With extensions usually come some other perks spread across the program. At least one reporter during a recent press conference wondered if Elko asked for more NIL money moving forward. Unsurprisingly, Elko did not provide much clarity and opted not to comment.

“I’m not going to comment on that publicly,” Elko said.

Texas A&M is known for being a school flush with incredible resources. Everyone remembers the rumors about the now-infamous 2022 recruiting class, one Elko helped build before leaving to become Duke‘s head coach. Jimbo Fisher will be the first to tell you cash is not always the main motivator behind kids committing to schools. But it certainly does not hurt.

And then there is the NCAA transfer portal, a place Texas A&M has found an immense amount of success. No example better than star pass rusher Cashius Howell, who was previously at Bowling Green, played as a reserve in 2024, and is now one of the SEC’s top players.

You have to figure NIL is going to be a strong suit for Texas A&M, no matter who is in charge. Whether or not Elko got some extra reassurances, we might never know because he did not want to share any details.

Mike Elko speaks to potential interest in other schools

The contract extension for Elko came for a reason. It’s natural for high-level names to pop up in high-level coaching searches. So, instead of waiting around to see how things played out, Texas A&M athletic director Trev Alberts jumped into action.

At the same time, knowing exactly the interest level Elko might have in leaving is part of the equation. He provided an answer in the same press conference.

“Yeah, I’ve said this before,” Elko said. “It’s how we run our program. I want to value people because I believe they do a good job and I believe in what they’re doing. That was the message to our administration was like I don’t want to have to come to you and say, this school — I don’t do that. That’s not who I am. That’s not how I want to be. If you believe in this program and you believe in what we’re doing, this is what we believe that belief should look like.”