Texas A&M football fans have always looked to the yearly spring game, the culmination of spring football, as a major landmark on the sport's calendar. Big time players, both new and returning, get a chance to show off their stuff in front of the crowd at Kyle Field.
Of course, there is limited value in analysis when it comes to the spring game. The rotations that the coach chooses are not always those that will actually be used in real games, and there are certain players who don't play— either for injury reasons or late enrollees from the most recent recruiting class.
Even so, this is still an enjoyable event for fans everywhere. But in this new world of college football, it appears that nothing is safe.
Will Texas A&M football cancel spring game in 2025?
News has come down recently that several major programs are refraining from holding a spring game this year, with the latest being the Aggies' chief rival. The reasons are many and varied, but there's one through line that most fans suspect.
Thanks to the advent of the free transfer and NIL, the situation has become all too possible that a player has a breakout performance in the spring game and uses that publicity as leverage to hold the program hostage for more NIL— with the threat of a transfer out in the spring window.
As cold as that sounds, it's not exactly out of the question. The timing of things is such that this is an eminent possibility, as a matter of fact.
So, with that danger in mind, will Texas A&M football hold their spring game? There's no indication at the moment that they will balk at the notion, but as this becomes a more widespread phenomenon, I wouldn't be surprised to see the Aggies join in the ranks.
This is a strange time in college athletics. The unexpected is everywhere— and this line of thought could become the next to manifest broadly across the sport's landscape.