The Trump administration is considering an executive order that could increase scrutiny of the explosion in payments to college athletes since 2021, after the president met with former Alabama coach Nick Saban, White House officials said.
Trump met with Saban on Thursday night when he was in Tuscaloosa to deliver the University of Alabamaās commencement address. Saban talked about āNILā deals with Trump, telling the president how he believed the influx of money had damaged college sports.
āNILā stands for āname, image and likeness,ā but is used as a catchall term for the new era in which college athletes are allowed to earn money from their fame. Under pressure from the courts and state legislators, the NCAA in 2021 relaxed longstanding rules that banned athletes from profiting from their name, image or likeness.
A class-action settlement is pending that would allow schools to pay athletes directly from the billions of dollars in revenue, much of it in broadcast-rights fees paid by TV networks, that they help generate.
Trump said he agreed with Saban and would look at crafting an executive order, people familiar with the meeting said. Trump told aides to begin studying what an order could say, the people said.
Saban didnāt propose ending NIL but āreformingā it, according to a person with direct knowledge of the meeting. He described how it was causing an uneven playing field, the people said, with an arms race among powerhouse schools.
Saban wasnāt available for comment on Friday afternoon, according to his assistant.
College-athlete compensation used to be limited by NCAA rules to little more than a scholarship, room and board. Now, athletes in the high-profile sports of football and basketball often sign deals with corporate sponsors and well-heeled booster groups, with some star players earning a few million dollars a year.
The NCAA simultaneously relaxed its transfer rules, making it easier than ever for athletes to switch schools in pursuit of the biggest paycheckāmuch like coaches have done for decades. But unlike professional sports, where athletes sign employment contracts and leagues attempt to maintain competitive balance by imposing salary caps, there are no such limits in college sports. Some coaches have lamented that their entire rosters can turn over between seasons.
The result is a freewheeling marketplace where nearly 4,300 Division I football players switched schools in 2024 and an estimated $1.67 billion changed hands in 2024-25, according to Opendorse, a platform that facilitates NIL deals.
āThe people out there need to know this model is unsustainable,ā Saban said in January on a radio show. He said it was unfair for some universities to pay and spend astronomically more than others.
The NCAA declined to comment on a potential executive order. NCAA spokesman Tim Buckley said the group is confronting some of the challenges facing college sports on its own, ābut 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.ā
Saban is considered one of the greatest coaches in college sports history. He won seven national championships, six at Alabama, before retiring after the 2023 season.
Trump attended the 2018 College Football Playoff Championship in Atlanta when Saban won his fifth title with the Alabama Crimson Tide. The president has also attended two games in Tuscaloosa, in 2019 and 2024, and the annual Army-Navy game, among other events.
Since retiring from coaching, Saban has become an analyst on ESPNās traveling Saturday morning pregame show, College GameDay. In an interview with The Wall Street Journal in October, he credited the show for exposing him to a wider swath of college athletics.
āItās actually very interesting to see the big picture,ā he said. āWhen youāre a coach you kind of look at everything through a straw.ā
