Donald Trump waded into the debate over big-money payouts in college sports on Thursday after signing an executive order that restricts earnings from third parties.
The order, which is expected to face legal challenges from college athletes, seeks to block recruiting payments to them by third-party sources such as donors in lucrative sports like football and men’s basketball.
Trump’s landmark move, which adds federal government scrutiny to the practice, aims to preserve funds available for women’s and non-revenue sports.
It also comes after months of speculation about whether the president will establish a college sports commission to tackle some of the thorny issues facing what is now a multibillion-dollar industry. He instead issued an order intended to add some controls to ‘an out-of-control, rudderless system in which competing university donors engage in bidding wars for the best players, who can change teams each season.’
‘Absent guardrails to stop the madness and ensure a reasonable, balanced use of resources across collegiate athletic programs that preserves their educational and developmental benefits, many college sports will soon cease to exist,’ Trump’s order says. ‘It is common sense that college sports are not, and should not be, professional sports, and my administration will take action accordingly.’
Donald Trump signed an executive order that restricts third-party payments to college athletes
Livvy Dunne, who ended her LSU gymnastics career this year with a $9.5m net worth, is one of several college athletes to have benefitted from NIL deals with brands and sponsors
There has been a dramatic increase in money flowing into and around college athletics and a sense of chaos. Key court victories won by athletes angry that they were barred for decades from earning income based on their celebrity and from sharing in the billions of revenue they helped generate have gutted the amateurism model long at the heart of college sports.
Facing a growing number of state laws undercutting its authority, the NCAA in July 2021 cleared the way for athletes to cash in with NIL deals with brands and sponsors – deals now worth millions.
That came mere days after a 9-0 from the Supreme Court that found the NCAA cannot impose caps on education-related benefits schools provide to their athletes because such limits violate antitrust law.
A number of athletes have benefited immensely since that rule change in 2021, including former LSU gymnastics sensation Livvy Dunne – who racked up a net worth of $9.5million before ending her college career earlier this year.
Ahead of the 2025-26 college year, Texas football quarterback Arch Manning – who has an estimated NIL valuation of $6.8m – is now the highest-earning college athlete.
Trump’s directive could lead to changes in school budgets as well as the multimillion-dollar market for US college athletes, and it could lead to limitations on payouts or employment rights for those athletes.
Texas football quarterback Arch Manning (pictured) is now the highest-earning college athlete
Yet how exactly the policy will be enforced is still to be determined.
Under the order, federal officials will develop a plan to deliver on the president’s order using ‘all available and appropriate regulatory, enforcement, and litigation mechanisms,’ including their funding power over states, colleges and universities.
Since taking office in January, Trump has repeatedly tried to intervene in actions by sports leagues, colleges and universities.
A February executive order aimed to bar transgender women from competing in women’s sports. The United States Olympic and Paralympic Committee implemented such a ban this week, citing the order.
