Texas Family Raffles Off 100 Acres of Mineral Rights for $4

The Jones family is giving one winner a chance to claim a century-old Texas legacy.

Published on Feb. 10, 2026

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A Texas family is raffling off 100 acres of their mineral rights for the price of a cup of coffee after years of low-ball offers from oil companies and investment groups. The winner will get the mineral rights to the land, which is currently leased to an oil company, or $1 million. The family is using an online platform called Raffall to run the raffle, and 500,000 tickets must be sold for a winner to be selected.

Why it matters

Mineral rights in Texas can be extremely valuable, but the Jones family has struggled to get fair offers from companies looking to buy their rights. This raffle gives one person a chance to claim a piece of Texas history and potentially profit from the land's natural resources.

The details

The Jones family has owned the 100 acres of land in Frio County, Texas for over a century, with the mineral rights passed down through generations. For years, they've received low-ball offers of around $50 per acre to buy the rights, even though the family currently leases the land to an oil company for $2,100 per acre. With family members nearing retirement, the Joneses decided to raffle off the mineral rights through the Raffall platform, where a winner will pay $1 to claim the rights or receive $1 million if the 500,000 ticket goal is met.

  • The Jones family has owned the land for over a century, with the mineral rights passed down through generations.
  • For years, the family has received low offers of around $50 per acre to buy the mineral rights.
  • The family currently leases the land to an oil company for $2,100 per acre.

The players

Justin Jones

A teacher in south Austin and a member of the Jones family that has owned the land for over a century.

Frank Philip Wittman

Justin Jones' grandfather, who bought land across Texas in the early 1900s.

Raffall

A British-based sweepstakes company that is hosting the raffle for the Jones family's mineral rights.

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What they’re saying

“There's the old adage in Texas: Never, ever sell your mineral rights. And that's what I was brought up with.”

— Justin Jones, Teacher (KXAN)

“The mineral rights game is a funny one here, because the oil companies and the investment groups, they hold all of the power.”

— Justin Jones, Teacher (KXAN)

“I like the idea for someone to enter into this kind of a legacy story.”

— Justin Jones, Teacher (KXAN)

What’s next

The raffle will continue until 500,000 tickets are sold. If that goal is not met, a winner will be selected who will receive 50% of the ticket proceeds, while the Jones family will retain the mineral rights and the remaining ticket proceeds, minus a cut for Raffall.

The takeaway

This raffle highlights the value and power of mineral rights in Texas, where oil and gas resources can make land extremely lucrative. The Jones family's struggle to get fair offers for their rights shows how difficult it can be for landowners to negotiate with large energy companies, but this unique raffle gives one person a chance to claim a piece of that legacy.