How TCU and a famed Fort Worth football family broke up over NIL money
The Brockermeyer family is one of the most prominent football names in the history of Fort Worth, but its connection to TCU was severed over a few hundred thousand bucks.
Center James Brockermeyer should be finishing his final season of college football at TCU, with his twin brother, Tommy, having recently earned his degree from TCU. Older brother Luke would likely still be on staff as an assistant coach.
Instead, all three alums of All Saints Episcopal School no longer have any ties to TCU football.
A relationship that was a natural fit ended over what essentially amounts to exhaustion, and frustration, as college players now routinely keep coming back to coaches and staff members, asking for more money or else they will leave.
TCU head coach Sonny Dykes said enough, even if it was with the Brockermeyers.
Former TCU center James Brockermeyer will return to DFW to play a football game for the first time since he transferred to Miami in December of last year. The No. 10 Hurricanes play at SMU on Saturday in Dallas.
The particulars of his exit from Fort Worth to South Beach are sad, but in this era not surprising.
“Yes, I was a little upset with the Brockermeyers because I felt I was loyal to their family, but at the end of the day they have to do what they want, and what is best for them,” Dykes told the Star-Telegram. “If I have a problem with it, I have to get over it, because the bottom line is there are some teams that can pay six or eight times more than what we can. We have a limit.”
Father Blake Brockermeyer is a graduate of Arlington Heights, the University of Texas, and was a first-round pick of the Carolina Panthers in the 1995 NFL draft. He played nine seasons before he retired to Fort Worth after the 2003 season.
He did not respond to a request for comment for this story.
After coaching at the high school level, he was hired to be a defensive assistant at SMU under Dykes, when he was in his first year there in 2018.
Meanwhile, three of Brockermeyer’s sons were outstanding football players at All Saints. Not quite as good as their dad, but high-end college players.
Oldest son Luke was a walk-on at Texas, and earned a scholarship after one season. He was a four-year player who finished his career as an honorable mention All-Big 12 player.
Tommy Brockermeyer was a five-star prospect offensive tackle who selected Alabama, as did James.
Tommy dealt with injuries, and neither he nor his brother developed into starters in their time together at Alabama. In December 2022, Tommy announced that he was transferring to play for Dykes at TCU.
In February 2023, Dykes hired Luke Brockermeyer as a graduate assistant coach.
Following the 2023 season, during which James was mostly a backup at Alabama, he transferred to TCU, where he would be reunited with his brothers on the same team.
In March 2024, Tommy Brockermeyer retired from football because of injuries. TCU said it would honor the scholarship.
Early in the 2024 season, when James was the starting center, he openly talked about how much fun it was for his entire family to be so close where they could be together, and attend games.
He had one season of eligibility remaining, and as such, one of the most decorated football families in Fort Worth would strengthen its tie to TCU.
However, late in the 2024 season, people associated with the Miami Hurricanes football team contacted Blake Brockermeyer about James, who had established himself as a solid Big 12 player.
Miami was willing to offer James a few hundred more thousand than what TCU was paying him.
Realizing this was his son’s best opportunity to make money playing football, Blake asked Dykes if TCU could at least match Miami’s offer for James. TCU did match the offer, and the staff believed this was potential departure was prevented.
Miami people then came back to Blake and increased the offer for James. In turn, Blake reached out to TCU again to match. At this point, Dykes said no.
This was all going on during the practice weeks leading up to TCU’s appearance in the New Mexico Bowl; Brockermeyer was practicing with the team to play in the game. When TCU declined to match for James Brockermeyer, he left the team to transfer to Miami, which forced Dykes and TCU to play a new player against Louisiana in the bowl game.
Shortly thereafter, TCU and Dykes did not ask Luke Brockermeyer to remain on his staff. Tommy had already earned his degree.
“In the moment I was irritated, mostly because of the timing of it all; I could have used those practices for another player,” Dykes said. “When it’s all said and done, I am OK with it. I truly wish him nothing but the best.
“I was upset, but I’m not mad at him. I’ll watch for him, and I want him to succeed.”
When asked about his relationship with Blake Brockermeyer at the moment, Dykes said, “It’s probably a little frosty, but give it time, and I’ll get over it.”
Dykes made a similar decision for defensive tackle Damonic Wiliams, who repeatedly kept coming back to TCU asking for money as he was pursued by other Power Four conference teams. TCU appeased Williams multiple times but eventually said no, and in May 2024 he transferred to Oklahoma, where he is a senior starter.
In the era of the transfer portal, and NIL money, these stories are common.
The portal made the inclusion of one of the most prominent Fort Worth football families to TCU possible, and it also ended it.
This story was originally published October 31, 2025 at 4:30 AM.
