Story by© Jerome Miron-Imagn ImagesNick SchultzFri, December 19, 2025 at 2:16 AM UTC·2 min readDuring his time at Texas, Michael Taaffe built an impressive social media following with more than 80,000 followers across Instagram and X. That platform is important in the NIL era – but Taaffe took a “different” approach. Taaffe didn’t ink many high-profile deals during his time at Texas. He was part of Sonic’s activation along with some Longhorns teammates and Texas A&M players, and he joined Seat Geek’s initiative ahead of last year’s College Football Playoff. AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementSUBSCRIBE to the On3 NIL and Sports Business NewsletterInstead, Taaffe’s focus remained on the big picture, which included his efforts with Texas Against Fentanyl.