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A new executive order introduced by President Donald Trump on Thursday introduces rules to rein in NIL and preserve non-revenue college sports. Trump and several other government officials had worked in recent months to try to put guardrails on a seemingly lawless college sports landscape.
The executive order is meant to “preserve” the future of college athletics, particularly non-revenue sports, while still allowing athletes to benefit from “legitimate” name, image, and likeness deals.
What Does The ‘Save College Sports’ Executive Order Actually Include?
The new executive order appears to address two major issues. The first is “pay to play” for college athletes beyond the scope of genuine NIL deals. The second is an attempt to ensure that non-revenue sports (every sport other than football and basketball) are not eliminated and that scholarships aren’t cut in service of revenue-generating sports.
Specifically, the order reads as follows (in part):
– The Order requires the preservation and, where possible, expansion of opportunities for scholarships and collegiate athletic competition in women’s and non-revenue sports.
– The Order prohibits third-party, pay-for-play payments to collegiate athletes. This does not apply to legitimate, fair-market-value compensation that a third party provides to an athlete, such as for a brand endorsement
-The Order provides that any revenue-sharing permitted between universities and collegiate athletes should be implemented in a manner that protects women’s and non-revenue sports.
-The Order directs the Secretary of Labor 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.
-The Order directs the Attorney General 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 Order directs the Assistant to the President for Domestic Policy and the Director of the White House Office of Public Liaison to consult with the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Teams and other organizations to protect the role of college athletics in developing world-class American athletes.
The text of the full executive order also addresses why Trump felt it was necessary. It states that college sports are responsible for $4B in annual scholarships. It also notes that college sports “produced 75% of the 2024 U.S. Olympic Team and have yielded countless business and civic leaders.”
Ultimately, only time will tell if the executive order holds up in court. But at least for now, it’s a significant win for athletes in non-revenue sports as well as schools with limited financial resources.