While the Texas Longhorns baseballsquad continues to hit the jackpot in Las Vegas this weekend, one true freshman has turned his luck into an NIL deal.
Dual-sport athlete Jonah Williams and Vanguard Volkswagen North Austin announced their partnership on Thursday through a social media post on Instagram. Representatives from the dealership captioned the post saying, “Proud to have [Williams], UT football and baseball standout, as part of the Vanguard VW North Austin team!”
No further information has been revealed in regards to how much Williams will be compensated, but the post features Williams standing in front of a Ford pickup truck.
Williams’ partnership with Vanguard Volkswagon is just the beginning of the Texas class of 2025 NIL production, with starting quarterback Arch Manning paving the way after securing a deal with RedBull back in February. Five-star defensive lineman commit Justus Terry was also posted on the Vanguard Volkswagen Instagram, hinting that another Longhorn partnership might be en route.
Texas football has seen its fair share of players turning their talent into NIL deals, such as former running back Bijan Robinson, wide receiver Isaiah Bond, and returning safety Michael Taaffe all previously collaborating with Lamborghini Austin.
Within the few months that Williams has been enrolled at Texas, his participation with the Texas One Fund program, the university’s official NIL collective, has quickly allowed him to expand his personal brand. Williams has associated with Partners for Education, Agriculture and Sustainability and Carrying Hope, two local nonprofit organizations thanks to Texas One Fund.
Although Williams has yet to make an appearance on the diamond for Texas, as he heals from a broken collarbone, baseball head coach Jim Schlossnagle said Williams has already been making himself comfortable on the Forty Acres.
“I got to give him a lot of credit for how he’s handled himself, coming in as a high school senior, basically, and how he’s handled himself in the clubhouse,” Schlossnagle said during the team’s first media availability in January. “He speaks up. He’s not afraid to be assertive, but he’s also really funny, and our guys love him, but he hasn’t healed yet. [Steve Sarkisian] and I, you know, we’re on the same page, and I certainly want him to have a great experience on the baseball side so he’s ready to go help the football team.”
The outfielder and left-handed pitcher looks to make the switch to safety come August, where he’ll be surrounded by veteran Taaffe, Jelani McDonald, Derek Williams Jr., and others as he looks to make an immediate impact under football head coach Steve Sarkisian.