Texas receiver Xavier Worthy signs NIL deal with American Airlines
Xavier Worthy will get his second crack Saturday at Alabama.
The Texas wide receiver played with a broken hand for much of last season, unknown to the public. This offseason he worked to get his hand healthy. But he also worked to locate his love for football, bettering his mental health.
That work showed up Saturday when he tallied a team-leading seven catches for 90 yards. He is ready for his moment against the Tide.
Before he takes the field in Tuscaloosa, the third-year player entered an NIL deal with American Airlines. Worthy announced the agreement on his Instagram, promoting the 77 nonstop flights running out of Austin every day.
The announcement is part of American’s college football schedule this fall, which includes direct flights from Austin to Birmingham, Alabama, this weekend. Terms of the contract were not shared.
“I’m proud to travel with the world’s best airline this season,” he wrote on Instagram. “The #AATeam at American ensures that we have a smooth journey from takeoff to landing and are geared up for game day. With 77 nonstop flights every day from Austin, American Air is the top choice for Texans.”
American and Texas Athletics entered an official partnership in July 2022, agreeing to a multi-year agreement that calls for sponsorship and marketing benefits for the Longhorns. As the official airline and airline rewards program sponsor, Texas fans can access VIP perks and benefits.
In the promotional material released on Instagram, Xavier Worthy is rocking the burnt orange Texas jersey with a Longhorn-themed football. Wearing the school’s marks means American secured intellectual property usage, allowing the receiver to represent Texas in the NIL deal. It has become a popular move for brands. IP only helps the airline, as most athletes are more recognizable in their uniform or college environment.
American is not the first airline to get involved in the NIL space. United Airlines partnered with Caleb Williams for a season-long campaign in July, promoting the addition of 127 new, nonstop flights for college football season.
Here is the full list of college football games American is servicing:
- Sep. 9: Austin, Texas (AUS) to Birmingham, Alabama (BHM)
- Sep. 9: College Station, Texas (CLL) to Miami (MIA)
- Sep 16: Nashville (BNA) to Gainesville, Florida (GNV)
- Sep 23: Cedar Rapids, Iowa (CID) to State College, Pennsylvania (SCE)
- Sep 30: Denver (DEN) to Los Angeles (LAX)
- Oct 7: Birmingham to College Station
- Oct 14: Dallas-Fort Worth (DFW) to Knoxville, Tennessee (TYS)
- Oct 21: Columbus, Ohio (CMH) to Philadelphia (PHL)
- Oct 28: Columbus to Madison, Wisconsin (MSN)
- Nov 4: South Bend Indiana (SBN) to Greensville/Spartanburg, South Carolina (GSP)
- Nov 11: Detroit (DTW) to State College
- Nov 11: Los Angeles (LAX) to Eugene, Oregon (EUG)
- Nov 18: Austin to Des Moines, Iowa (DSM)
- Nov 25: Charlotte (CLT) and Dallas-Fort Worth to Birmingham
Xavier Worthy’s growing NIL brand
Repped by Rubicon Talent, Worthy has been a successful player in the NIL space. Early on in college sports’ new era, he partnered with Epic Games to promote Fortnite. Shortly later, he entered an NIL deal next to Quinn Ewers supporting Sonic.
This past summer, he held a summer camp for youth in Austin, partnering with Raising Cane’s. In last year’s edition of the Alabama-Texas matchup, the receiver hauled in five receptions for 97 yards.
Worthy has a $1 million On3 NIL Valuation, which ranks No. 15 in college football. The valuation is No. 22 in the On3 NIL 100, which is the first of its kind and defacto NIL ranking of the top 100 high school and college athletes ranked by their 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.