CINCINNATI — Cincinnati Bengals running back Trayveon Williams is headed back to school.
This time, he’ll be teaching.
Williams will serve as an adjunct professor at Texas A&M’s law school and will co-teach a class on NIL, college athletics and athlete advocacy alongside sports attorney and business consultant Alex Sinatra. Williams, who played at Texas A&M from 2016 to 2018, made the announcement during an appearance on Sinatra’s “Your Potential for Everything” podcast that was published this month.
Williams said he was excited about the opportunity to give back and provide information to current college athletes and attorneys seeking to understand the space.
“Having someone who has been in that system, who can relate, and who can bring a certain stamp of actual, real-life engagement in that world, I feel like can be beneficial,” Williams said on the podcast.
Sinatra, who also attended Texas A&M, said the class stemmed from a Twitter joke. But after it gained traction, she reached out to Williams, who was enthusiastic about the opportunity at his alma mater.
Williams was a three-year starter for the Aggies and finished his collegiate career as one of the school’s most prolific rushers. He ran for 3,615 yards, the third-highest total in A&M history. His 1,760 rushing yards in 2018 set the school record for the most in a single season and earned him first-team all-SEC honors.
The Bengals drafted him in the sixth round of the 2019 draft. The reserve running back appeared in five games last season and was inactive for three of the team’s four postseason games in 2021.
According to the team’s media guide, Williams majored in recreation, parks, tourism and science, and minored in business.
In his conversation with Sinatra, Williams stressed the ability for current athletes to navigate the changing landscape in college athletics since the introduction of NIL legislation.
“There has to be someone that represents them,” Williams said. “There has to be someone who understands the ins and outs when it comes to constructing contracts and doing all the little, minute details in the middle of it.”
Sinatra said she and Williams are still building the course curriculum. It is scheduled to debut during the spring of 2023.
“I’ll be a full-time Bengal during the season, I promise,” Williams said. “However, after the season’s over, I’m putting my professor hat on and getting to work.”