| 100% | NABORS | 6 | Houston's ___ Industries that signed a contract with Saudi Aramco in 2016 to form SANAD, a joint venture |
| 30% | INK | 3 | Liquid that's used to sign a contract |
| 30% | MANGROVE | 8 | Tropical evergreen tree with intertwining aerial roots that become embedded in mud to form a tangled network |
| 29% | PEN | 3 | Something to sign a contract with |
| 29% | PEN | 3 | What to sign a contract with |
| 28% | PEN | 3 | Something to sign a form with |
| 27% | LOUISVUITTON | 12 | Fashion house that collaborated with the Final Fantasy XIII video game franchise in 2016 to create a new look for the heroine Lightning (2 wds.) |
| 26% | ALLFORONE | 9 | With 21-Down, catchphrase that provides a hint to eight answers in this puzzle |
| 26% | TENON | 5 | Used with a mortise to form a joint |
| 26% | VENUSDEMILO | 11 | Masterpiece discovered in 1820 with a feature that's a hint to this puzzle's theme |
| 25% | ADIDAS | 6 | German sports brand that signed a 13 year deal with James Harden in 2015 |
| 25% | NUPE | 4 | Public service union that joined with COHSE and NALGO in 1993 to form UNISON (inits) |
| 25% | TALLAHATCHIE | 12 | River rising in Mississippi, US, that converges with the Yalobusha at Greenwood to form the Yazoo |
| 25% | SAHARA | 6 | World's largest hot desert in Africa with a name that translates to "desert" in Arabic |
| 24% | TARN | 4 | A mountain lake formed due to rainfall that rhymes with "barn" |
| 24% | THELONG | 7 | With 63-Across, all that needs to be said, or a hint to what's found in each starred answer |
| 24% | ATL | 3 | 53-Down with more than 70 sts. that have a form of "Peachtree" in their names |
| 24% | METS | 4 | Team that signed Juan Soto to a record-breaking 15-year, $765 million contract |
| 24% | GERRITCOLE | 10 | Pitcher who signed a $324 million contract with the Yankees in 2019: 2 wds. |
| 24% | NORA | 4 | Name that can fill in the blank in ME___H to form a word |
| 24% | LACQUER | 7 | Liquid of shellac dissolved in alcohol that dries to form a hard protective coating |
| 24% | GOLF | 4 | Sport that returned to the Summer Olympics in 2016 after a 112-year absence |
| 24% | RCTS | 4 | Org. with 3000 members and a monthly magazine, formed in the UK in '28, that's for those interested in locomotives |
| 24% | IKEA | 4 | Company that was the first in the U.S. to air a TV ad with a gay couple (1994) |
| 24% | NIGHTSCHOOL | 11 | 2016 novel by Lee Child in which Jack Reacher joins a mission to find a soldier who's cut a deal with a terrorist: 2 wds. |
| 24% | GREINKE | 7 | Zack ___, baseball pitcher who signed a six-year contract worth $206.5 million in 2016 |
| 24% | AROD | 4 | Nickname of a Yankee with a 10-year, $275 million contract signed in 2007: Hyph. |
| 24% | ALEXRODRIGUEZ | 13 | Third baseman who signed a $275 million contract with the Yankees in 2007: 2 wds. |
| 24% | AARONJUDGE | 10 | Right fielder who signed a $360 million contract with the Yankees in 2022: 2 wds. |
| 24% | SPONGE | 6 | ___ cake, lightly flavored cake that can be used to form multiple layers in a cake |