President Donald Trump officially issued his expected college sports executive order on Thursday.
According to the White House, the executive order “prohibits third-party, pay-for-play payments to collegiate athletes.” However the order “does not apply to legitimate, fair-market-value compensation that a third party provides to an athlete, such as for a brand endorsement.”
Additionally, the order asks the Labor Department and the National Labor Relations Board to “clarify the status of student-athletes in order to preserve non-revenue sports and the irreplaceable educational and developmental opportunities that college sports provide” and tells Attorney General Pam Bondi and the Federal Trade Commission to “take appropriate actions to protect student-athletes’ rights and safeguard the long-term stability of college athletics from endless, debilitating antitrust and other legal challenges.”
The issuance of the executive order was no surprise, and it’s unclear what the immediate or long-term impact of it would be on college sports, if there is any. It’s been publicly floated for months.
The executive order comes as college sports administrators have asked Congress for federal laws regulating the name, image and likeness landscape after the NCAA rolled back its rules on amateurism in the early 2020s.
Here is the NCAA’s statement on Trump’s executive order:
“The NCAA is making positive changes for student-athletes and confronting many challenges facing college sports by mandating health and wellness benefits and guaranteeing scholarships, but there are some threats to college sports that federal legislation can effectively address and the Association is advocating with student-athletes and their schools for a bipartisan solution with Congress and the administration,” NCAA president Charlie Baker said in a statement after the order was issued. “The Association appreciates the Trump Administration’s focus on the life-changing opportunities college sports provides millions of young people and we look forward to working with student-athletes, a bipartisan coalition in Congress and the Trump Administration to enhance college sports for years to come.”
Congress hasn’t shown an inclination to act anytime soon on federal legislation. Yahoo Sports’ Ross Dellenger reported on the contents of the executive order last week and one of the lead attorneys in the House settlement with the NCAA said the order was “unwarranted.”
“Plain and simple, college athletes don’t need Trump’s help, and he shouldn’t be aiding the NCAA at the expense of athletes,” Berman, managing partner and co-founder of Hagens Berman, said in a statement to Yahoo Sports last week. “Step back, Mr. President. These fabulous athletes don’t need your help. Let them make their own deals. And the Supreme Court with your appointee, Justice Kavanaugh, condemned the NCAA’s compensation rules as a violation of the antitrust laws. Why give them immunity, Mr. President, in light of that ruling?”
The House settlement is ushering in a new era of revenue sharing for college sports as schools will distribute money to athletes directly. That settlement could also lead to changes in the way athletes are classified as well. With athletes now getting paid by their schools, there could be a stronger case to call them employees of the university.
The order comes months after a presidential commission on college sports was floated. Former Alabama coach Nick Saban was mentioned as a leader for the commission, but even he said such a group wasn’t needed. Meanwhile, there are bills being discussed in the House.
If a bill advances, it’d be the first time a bill regulating college sports has made it to the House or Senate floor in the NIL era. The NCAA has been asking for federal guidance ever since myriad states forged ahead with their own laws regulating how college athletes can get paid. Instead of navigating laws on a state-by-state basis, the NCAA largely rolled back its prohibitions on athlete compensation and the lack of guardrails has led to consternation among politicians and college administrators.
