Lamborghini Austin partners with Texas players Jordan Whittington, Jake Majors, Jaylan Ford
Roughly 15 months since signing its first NIL deal, Lamborghini Austin has returned to the space on the eve of Texas football kicking off.
The luxury sports car dealership has signed endorsement contracts with three Longhorns, announced Friday afternoon on Instagram. Jordan Whittington, Jake Majors and Jaylan Ford have all signed as promotional partners for the season. Terms of the agreements were not released.
In May 2022, Bijan Robinson took the college football world by storm when he signed with Lamborghini Austin. The star running back signed a year-long contract with the company and was able to drive a Lamborghini off the lot
“Jordan, Jake and Jaylan are true student-athletes who have excelled in the classroom as well as on the field,” Lamborghini Austin managing partner Bruce Knox said in a statement. “Our objective is to reward student-athletes for their commitment to academics and achievement in sports. Lamborghini Austin is honored to have these three outstanding young men serve in our 2023 Promotional Partner Program.”
Whittington’s relationship with the dealership is not new, as he’s previously worked as an intern with the group. Now he is able to monetize his name, image and likeness and sign with Lamborghini Austin.
When Robinson signed on, it caught the attention at Lamborghini’s headquarters in Italy. The original NIL relationship began when Steve Sarkisian hosted a recruiting event inside Darrell K. Royal Memorial Stadium with multiple luxury sports car dealerships in the area.
The return on investment was clearly enough, as Lamborghini Austin is now working with three Texas football athletes. Entering into the deal with Robinson was never about his on-field performance. It’s a similar case more than a year later with this trio of Longhorns.
“At the end of the day, we’re not boosters,” Lamborghini’s marketing director Jeremy Jaramillo previously told On3. “We’re not someone who, you know, if they lose to OU, that’s the end of everything kind of people. We’re just, more or less, a local business supporting a local business. … Right now, we just want to have our brand associated with Bijan’s brand because it’s brand exposure for both parties. He wants to exude excellence on the field.
“That’s what Lamborghini’s brand is associated with: exuding excellence and top-notch standards. That’s really what we’re looking at the biggest piece of this partnership.”
Lamborghini tabs trio of Texas stars
A fifth-year wide receiver who has played in 27 games with 17 starts, Whittington has been a major piece of the Texas offense when he can stay healthy. He’s earned playing time since he was a freshman in 2019. The former four-star prospect finished with 50 catches for 652 yards and a touchdown last season. He has a $216,000 On3 NIL Valuation with more than 67,000 social media followers.
Majors started at center as a sophomore last season for the Longhorns, and he’s expected to build off that experience this year. Named to this season’s preseason watch list for the Rimington Trophy, he was a key piece of an offensive line that helped Robinson rush for 1,580 yards and 18 touchdowns while averaging 6.1 yards per carry. The 6-foot-3, 315-pound Texas native has a $171,000 On3 NIL Valuation.
Expectations are high this season for Ford. Tabbed as the Big 12 Preseason Defensive Player of the Year, he was a third-team All-American a year ago. The linebacker wreaked havoc on offenses, tallying 119 tackles, including 10 tackles for loss and two sacks. He forced turnovers, too with three forced fumbles, two fumble recoveries and four interceptions. Ford has signed NIL deals with the Texas One Fund and Vanguard Volkswagen; he has a $355,000 On3 NIL Valuation.
The On3 NIL Valuation is the industry’s leading index that sets the standard market NIL value for high school and college athletes. A proprietary algorithm, the On3 NIL Valuation calculates an athlete’s NIL value using dynamic data points targeting three primary categories: performance, influence and exposure.
About On3 NIL Valuation, Brand Value, Roster Value
While the algorithm includes deal data, it does not act as a tracker of the value of NIL deals athletes have completed to date, nor does it set an athlete’s NIL valuation for their entire career. The On3 NIL Valuation calculates the optimized NIL opportunity for athletes relative to the overall NIL market and projects out to as long as 12 months into the future.