This former Texas A&M football recruit was paid by the university

The Texas A&M football team doesn’t necessarily have the history that some programs do, but the Aggies have always brought in top talent out of high school. The Aggies’ 2022 class best exemplifies this, breaking virtually every recruiting record physically possible with a class that could feature seven five-star commitments when all is said and done.

But some have questioned the tactics of this football program, among others.

This week, a former Texas A&M football prospect and NFL legend made an unexpectedly admitted something that virtually everybody had suspected. That confession involved Eric Dickerson, his mom, and a Pontiac Trans Am.

The Texas A&M football program was in the wrong, but does it really matter this much later?

I could break down the excerpt myself but The Eagle did a strong job doing so. Here’s their breakdown of the situation.

"Dickerson details in the excerpt how he saw the car at a dealership on Interstate 10 while traveling from Sealy to visit his grandparents in Houston. After mentioning the car to his stepfather, he said he found himself talking with an A&M booster in Sealy — Dickerson identifies him as Clarence Shear — who told him to go to the dealership. Once at the dealership with his mother and grandmother, Dickerson said he picked out the gold Trans Am. Dickerson notes how his grandmother signed all the paperwork, but that “behind the scenes, A&M had agreed to reimburse her. And that, my friends, is how the notorious Trans Am was paid for.”"

Dickerson goes on to explain how he “deserved” that car as one of the best football players in the country. And while that may have seemed like a wild thing to say, it’s virtually nothing compared to what players are earning with NIL deals now.

This is obviously very damning evidence against Texas A&M boosters. That said, who really cares anymore? This is something that happened over 40 years ago and in the end, Dickerson didn’t even end up attending Texas A&M. That, however, didn’t prevent his gold car from earning the nickname “Trans A&M.” You have to admit, it’s very funny.

Dickerson would eventually attend SMU, who must have given him more money or something more valuable than a gold Trans Am. He would earn All-American honors, while SMU would receive the death penalty in 1987.

Some things never change, as the Texas A&M football team is still paying players. The key difference is that this time, it’s totally legal under NCAA rules.

Perhaps their past experience gave the program a leg up, helping TAMU become the first school to take full advantage of these new rules.