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Trump Admin Unveils Executive Order To “Save College Sports” Amid NIL Chaos

Executive Action Seeks to Reign in NIL and Transfer Rules, Prioritize Non-Revenue Sports

President Donald J. Trump today signed an Executive Order titled “Saving College Sports,” a sweeping directive aimed at addressing the rapidly evolving landscape of collegiate athletics, particularly in the wake of recent Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL) rule changes and ongoing litigation.

The order, issued from the White House, seeks to establish national standards and guardrails to preserve the integrity and broad opportunities within college sports, with a particular focus on protecting non-revenue and women’s sports.

The Executive Order highlights the significant role of college sports in American culture and in developing leaders, noting that over 500,000 student-athletes benefit from nearly $4 billion in scholarships annually. It emphasizes the success of collegiate athletes in international competition, pointing out that 65% of the 2024 United States Olympic Team members were current or former NCAA varsity athletes, contributing to the U.S. leading the medal count for the eighth consecutive Summer Olympic Games.

However, the order asserts that this “uniquely American institution” is under “unprecedented threat” due to recent litigation that has “eliminated limits on athlete compensation, pay-for-play recruiting inducements, and transfers between universities.”

The President acknowledged that “changes providing some increased benefits and flexibility to student-athletes were overdue and should be maintained,” but argued that the current “out-of-control, rudderless system” has led to “bidding wars for the best players, who can change teams each season.”

The order specifically cites the impact of a 2021 Supreme Court antitrust ruling that led to the NCAA permitting NIL compensation. However, it claims that subsequent litigation removed “guardrails designed to ensure that these were legitimate, market-value NIL payments for endorsements or similar services, rather than simply pay-for-play inducements.” This, coupled with the elimination of transfer limits, has resulted in a “chaotic race to the bottom” with over 30 states enacting their own NIL laws.

Concrete numbers provided in the order illustrate the financial shifts:

  • Players at some universities are expected to receive over $50 million per year, primarily in revenue-generating sports like football.
  • The college football national champion team’s players in the 2024 season were reportedly paid around $20 million annually.
  • By the 2025 season, football players at one university are projected to be paid $35-40 million, including revenue-sharing.

The Executive Order expresses concern that this financial arms race “reduces competition and parity by creating an oligarchy of teams that can simply buy the best players,” and, critically, “siphons away the resources necessary to support the panoply of non-revenue sports,” which include many women’s sports.

To address these issues, the order outlines several key policies:

Protecting and Expanding Women’s and Non-Revenue Sports and Prohibiting Third-Party Pay-for-Play Payments:

  • For the 2025-2026 athletic season and beyond, collegiate athletic departments with over $125 million in revenue during the 2024-2025 season are directed to increase scholarship opportunities and maximize roster spots in non-revenue sports.
  • Departments with revenues between $50 million and $125 million are to maintain or increase non-revenue sport scholarship opportunities and maximize roster spots.
  • Departments with $50 million or less in revenue, or those without revenue-generating sports, are prohibited from disproportionately reducing scholarship opportunities or roster spots based on a sport’s revenue.
  • Any revenue-sharing between universities and athletes must be designed to preserve or expand opportunities in women’s and non-revenue sports.
  • The order explicitly states that “third-party, pay-for-play payments to collegiate athletes are improper and should not be permitted by universities,” while clarifying that fair market value compensation for legitimate brand endorsements or similar services is allowed.
  • The Secretary of Education, in consultation with the Attorney General, Secretary of Health and Human Services, and the Chairman of the Federal Trade Commission, is tasked with developing a plan within 30 days to implement these policies through regulatory, enforcement, and litigation mechanisms, including Federal funding decisions and Title IX enforcement.

Student-Athlete Status and Legal Protections:

  • The Secretary of Labor and the National Labor Relations Board are directed to clarify the status of collegiate athletes to maximize educational benefits.
  • The Attorney General and the Chairman of the Federal Trade Commission are instructed to work within 60 days to stabilize college athletics through litigation, guidelines, and policies, protecting scholarships and opportunities from unreasonable challenges under antitrust or other legal theories.

Protecting U.S. Olympic Team Development:

  • The Assistant to the President for Domestic Policy and the Director of the White House Office of Public Liaison are to consult with the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee to safeguard the role of collegiate athletics in developing Olympic athletes.

The Executive Order asserts the administration’s policy that “all college sports should be preserved and, where possible, expanded,” and that “college sports are not, and should not be, professional sports.” The order clarifies that it does not create any private right of action or enforceable benefit.

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