On Thursday, President Donald Trump signed an executive order establishing national regulations for the NCAA’s name, image and likeness (NIL) program, which top college athletes have relied on for compensation for their playing and endorsement deals. The order, titled “SAVING COLLEGE SPORTS,” addresses recent litigation on athlete compensation, pay-for-play recruiting inducements and transfers between universities.
Talks of Trump interfering with NIL have been floating around since May.
Talks of Trump interfering with NIL have been floating around since May, after reports came out of former University of Alabama football coach Nick Saban, during a private congressional roundtable, urging the president to release an executive order on NIL compensation because he claimed players were showing “less resiliency to overcome adversity.”
For decades, the NCAA imposed strict limitations on how much student athletes could be paid to discourage them from pursuing commercial opportunities on the basis of “amateurism,” the belief that college sports are separate from professional sports in that they should only be played in the spirit of the game, not necessarily for monetary gain. But naturally, athletes began to feel cheated out of their cut of the millions in revenue that their universities were making from major programs such as football and basketball, largely based on their performances.
It wasn’t until last month that a federal judge approved a landmark NCAA settlement that cleared the way for schools to pay athletes directly. This new revenue-sharing model establishes clear and specific rules for schools to regulate third-party NIL agreements and allows for student athletes to have more autonomy and power over their personal brands.
The case of University of Tennessee quarterback Nico Iamaleava is a textbook example of how NIL deals have shaped the college football landscape. Back in 2022, the California native had signed a four-year, $8 million contract with the university. After two seasons, his first as a redshirt and second as starting quarterback, he wanted to increase his deal to $4 million annually.
After unsuccessful attempts to negotiate with Tennessee, the team moved forward without Iamaleava, leaving him to enter the transfer portal. Shortly after, he announced his commitment to UCLA, despite claims that his final contract was nowhere close to the initial figure he wanted.
Iamaleava’s story is representative of the kind of issues Trump’s executive order seeks to address, namely the pay-for-play system that incentivizes athletes to negotiate competitive contracts. The order states that “the third-party market of pay-for-play inducements must be eliminated before its insatiable demand for resources dries up support for non-revenue sports.”
The order looks to level the playing field by preventing an oligarchy of teams that can simply buy the best players, in fear of reducing competition and resembling the world of professional sports too closely.
Section 2 of the executive order proposes that “opportunities for scholarships and collegiate athletic competition in women’s and non-revenue sports must be preserved and, where possible, expanded.” This is in response to concerns about money being concentrated in football and basketball programs.
“While major college football games can draw tens of millions of television viewers and attendees, they feature only a very small sample of the many athletes who benefit from the transformational opportunities that college athletics provide,” the first section states.
The order also notably calls on the secretary of labor and the National Labor Relations Board to “determine and implement the appropriate measures with respect to clarifying the status of collegiate athletes.” The concern here is that should college athletes be considered employees, they would be able to form a union and bargain for increased pay and other benefits.
Ultimately, the issue goes back to power and money and who is in control. Regardless of whether players are compensated as independent NIL contractors or as employees being paid for their performance, Trump’s insertion into the already tumultuous landscape of college sports proves that there is no such thing as avoiding politics, not even in a seemingly bipartisan space such as sports.
Since taking his second term in office, Trump has displayed an interesting, if not puzzling, interest in the world of professional and college sports. Since taking his second term in office, Trump has displayed an interesting, if not puzzling, interest in the world of professional and college sports. In the past few months, we’ve witnessed attempts to ban transgender athletes from Pennsylvania to California, ICE agents show up to Dodger Stadium, and Trump’s disorderly appearance on the Club World Cup stage. Then, this past Sunday, the president threatened to restrict the Washington Commanders deal to build a stadium if they did not change their name back to the controversial “Redskins.” Given all this, it isn’t unreasonable to be skeptical of what the president actually means when he proclaims to be “SAVING COLLEGE SPORTS.” The reorganization of college sports in the last few years has placed an emphasis on money, sure — but it has also allowed for more equity in the field. For instance, NIL deals are significantly benefiting female college athletes, who generally continue to be paid far less than their male counterparts, providing them opportunities that weren’t possible even just a few years ago. Major stars such as WNBA player Paige Bueckers and Olympic gymnast Suni Lee are among the most prominent earners in women’s sports in part as a result of a quickly evolving NIL market. Even Trump’s oldest granddaughter, Kai, recently signed an NIL deal with Accelerator Energy to support her budding golf career. The 18-year-old University of Miami commit made the announcement in a presidential-style Instagram video, promoting the energy drink brand that is also partnered with the likes of Travis Kelce and Livvy Dunne. Now, Kai joins the ranks not only in an NIL partnership, but as an equity partner in the brand. “She’s going to be a leading voice in NIL and beyond,” said Andrew Wilkinson, CEO of Accelerator. The world of college sports is already unrecognizable from what it was a few years ago, new conflicts are arising that haven’t existed before, and the NCAA’s inconsistencies against the shifting political landscape have left many athletes uncertain about their futures. As Kai makes NIL history, her grandfather has cemented his influence in the collegiate sports world in his own way. Instead of creating long-term solutions, the signing of this executive order seems poised to cause even more instability among yet another disenfranchised group in the country.
Julie Huynh
Julie Huynh is an MSNBC digital platforms intern and student journalist at Boston College. 
