Texas Tech continues massive athletics investment with historic signing

The Texas Tech Red Raiders announced themselves as a major player in college athletics' revenue-sharing era on Friday with a historic football signing.

ESPN college football reporter Eli Lederman shared that 2026 five-star offensive tackle Felix Ojo agreed to a staggering three-year, $5.1 million fully guaranteed contract for his commitment to Texas Tech.

According to 247Sports, Ojo is the top offensive tackle and No. 5 overall prospect in his class.

Per Lederman:

"The deal is believed to be one of the largest fully guaranteed revenue-sharing agreements in college football history under the recently approved federal settlement that allows college programs to pay their athletes directly."

In February, ESPN's Max Olson wrote about the program's spending spree this offseason, which included On3.com's top-ranked transfer portal class.

Per Olson, the Red Raiders spent over $10 million for its 2025 acquisitions, including linebacker David Bailey, defensive tackle Lee Hunter and running back Quinten Joyner.

Bailey led Stanford with seven sacks in 2024 and ranked fourth in NCAA in fumbles forced (five). Hunter tied for a UCF team-high 10 tackles for loss, while Joyner, a 2024 redshirt freshman at USC, averaged 7.6 yards per carry and scored four touchdowns last season. 

The Red Raiders aren't solely spending heavily on their football roster.

As Lederman noted, Texas Tech softball pitcher NiJaree Canady also recently received her second million-dollar name, image and likeness deal with the university, another sign of the program's serious push to establish itself as the premier Big 12 power.

A vacuum exists at the top following Oklahoma and Texas leaving for the SEC. In 2024, Arizona State football won the conference after being picked to finish last in the preseason by Big 12 media, which canceled all future preseason polls as a result.

No one knows what to expect from the conference moving forward, but Texas Tech is putting itself in a position to emerge near the top with its splurge. Money can't buy championships, but it provides teams an easier path to contention.

The Red Raiders are clearly hungry to add to their total. In 2024, men's track and field won the NCAA Indoor Championships, marking the third NCAA title in Texas Tech history.

Men's track and field also won an outdoor championship in 2019, while women's basketball earned Texas Tech its first NCAA championship in 1993.

The softball team came painfully close to winning the women's College World Series in June, losing to Texas, 2-1, in the best-of-three championship series.

ESPN's Football Power Index isn't too high on the football squad being nearly as competitive this fall. The Red Raiders have an 8-4 projected win-loss record and 10.3 percent chance of reaching the 12-team College Football Playoff.

Texas Tech could be an afterthought on the gridiron in 2025, but Ojo's massive signing is indicative of the program's bright future.

The recent landmark House vs. NCAA settlement forever altered the college athletics landscape, and the Red Raiders have been one of the quickest to take advantage.