We have a lot of problems to solve as a country, but the President has decided to wade into the NIL mess created by the NCAA, its membership, the jackass-in-chief Mark Emmert, and the antitrust plaintiff’s bar with an executive order called “Saving College Sports.” I’m not going to get into the constitutional law of this order or the politics of this, and this is not the space to debate either of those topics … Derek can take that up on Wednesday if he so desires.
Here’s a link to the order:
https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2025/07/saving-college-sports/
After reading the order, here are a couple of items I thought were interesting:
Overall, did the NCAA’s attorneys write Section 1 of the order?
The rationale for the order is all wrapped up in the NCAA’s past arguments for maintaining the façade of amateurism and current arguments for some kind of antitrust exemption. Olympic sports, academics, state laws, system where schools can buy the best players, and women’s sports are all arguments of the NCAA for intervention.
“It is common sense that college sports are not, and should not be, professional sports …”
We all need to face that college football and men’s basketball especially in the Power 4 conferences are now professional sports. The college sports industry made all of the decisions since NCAA v. Board of Regents of the University of Oklahoma and the University of Georgia in the interest of generating more money over time.
The bag men plus the facilities arms race show that college athletes have a market value. Church steeples, Trans Ams, McDonald’s bags, and $100 post-game handshakes were the underground labor market while $10,000 massage chairs, miniature golf courses and other perks in athletic buildings showed how player compensation was hung up on the balance sheets of these associations. Eventually, that market value led to the O’Bannon decision on the EA Sports NCAA game franchise where the NCAA hid behind the fig leaf of jersey numbers while the demographics just happened to match the individual players represented leading to the total cost of attendance (TCOAS) scholarship. Of course, additional litigation has essentially blown up the guardrails of the TCOAS into pay-for-play thinly veiled as NIL.
The bottom line is that as the money in these 2 sports exploded, those participating were being left behind.
“… [I]t is the policy of the executive branch that third-party, pay-for-play payments to collegiate athletes are improper … This policy does not apply to compensation provided to an athlete for the fair market value that the athlete provides to a third party.”
The executive branch appears to be lining up behind the House settlement on this topic. Payments made by NIL collectives? Bad. Payments made similar to the Olympic model? Good. I admit I’m on the side of the Olympic model, but that doesn’t mean I agree with this mechanism.
I’m sure Jeffrey Kessler and his firm are already lining up to go after the order for injunctive relief. I tend to give people the benefit of the doubt on their motivation … therefore, I lean that Kessler wants the best for the members of his class. I also am cynical about actions like this based on my day job. If there wasn’t a pot of money at the end of the rainbow for his firm, his firm probably wouldn’t be interested.
Is Section 4 an attempt at an antitrust exemption by fiat?
What does “unreasonably challenged” mean? I don’t think any of the NIL litigation to this point has been unreasonable. I also don’t think anyone wants the “rights and interests of student-athletes” harmed and the “long-term availability of collegiate athletic scholarships and opportunties” reduced.
I’m not sure the Attorney General and the Chair of the FTC can do a damn thing if NIL makes a school decide to shed sports.
“Protecting Development of the United States Olympic Team”
What sports at this point purely depend on amateurs generally and college athletes specifically for participation in the Olympics?
Tackle football isn’t an Olympic sport yet. Basketball? That ship sailed a long time ago with the 1992 Dream Team on the men’s side and soon thereafter with women. Swimming? Katie Ledecky famously left the Stanford swim team while remaining in school to pursue endorsements while also swimming professionally, and Michael Phelps never put on the maize and blue while attending Michigan to train with his long-time coach. Gymnastics? Many of the women are past their prime at college age, and the GOAT never wore a college leotard. Hockey? The Miracle on Ice was a long time ago, and the Olympics are now the NHL all stars playing for country. Track and field? Most of the US athletes are professionals now across the board even though they were collegiate athletes at one time.
Summary
Is this order like Texas football … all hat, no cattle?
It would seem so because there is no real policy, and any policy is likely to go down in flames under judicial oversight.
Is this order telling Congress what framework the President is willing to sign in a bill like the SCORE Act?
In my opinion, winner, winner, chicken dinner. He is telling the 535 members of Congress he is willing to sign a bill that reforms some of the problems of college sports while maintaining that student-athletes are not employees with collective bargaining rights.
What do you think? Let us know in the comments. Keep it civil and out of the political realm. If you want to do that, take it to the Playpen.
Meh…who do we think our backup long snappah will be?
We can talk about that as well, but if you don’t think the resolution of the NIL/transfer portal issue is important to the long-term well-being of college sports, you haven’t be listening (which I don’t think, BTW).
There’s no denying that he’s really good at sleight of hand which is what I tend to believe this EO is all about.
Although ‘sleight of hand’ implies that he’s fooling folks….
To repeat something I’ve previously written here:
Political Wankery is redundant.
I believe one aspect of the order is to inject the Federal Government into providing oversight. One of the biggest challenges the NCAA had on rules enforcement was the inability to subpoena and regulate/enforce.
I think the second thing is it could be the hook to get the NFL to weigh in. While the NFL CBA prevents employees from being a part of the league until 3 years removed from high school, recognition of SA’s as employees that collectively organize could put pressure on the NFL’s model.
I also think that part of the equation is what the courts and players want to do with regard to employment status. The Wild Wild West of NIL is driving revenue sports players further and further away from anything academic. Either they will be considered “amateur” student athletes with guard rails or they will be considered employees and no more student athlete. I think the first thing in a College Football CBA after financial consideration will be the elimination of academic requirements for eligibility.
The EO seems to indicate the current administration believes they should be amateurs with guardrails. I haven’t read the current language of the SCORE Act (which has support from both sides of the aisle and has progressed through committee in the House), but it seems to be going in that direction.
I 100% agree with you that is the EO is on the face of it. Like you I don’t want a political discussion on the following, but I think it is a contributing factor that it seems as if Trump’s administration likes EOs for the purpose of litigation and compromise. I don’t think Trump really wants “amateurs with guardrails” nor does he want the current environment, nor does he want to work an anti-trust exception. I believe the hope is the courts can provide a legal framework for “student-athlete” to have some meaning while some form of revenue sharing occurs. I think it would require some new categorization of the term by the courts to function. In any event, the approach is a flanking maneuver to remove the NCAA vs the kids approach in the courtroom.
I am highly skeptical it will save the sport from becoming NFL Lite but it may delay it a few more years.
I made my peace with NIL. This bit was helpful to me:
https://youtu.be/we-L7w1K5Zo?si=EZgAoEdL1lw2FIUM
I think, at least I hope, our love for college football can survive this conversion to a business. Reasoning: us ordinary folk still get inspired by all things related to Ole Alma Mater. Those of us fortunate to walk around Athens drunk for a few years even have memories.
Whoever said that the genie got out of the bottle upon the Georgia/Oklahoma vs. NCAA decision was right. Before that, big name coaches like Bear and Vince were making maybe 100 grand a year. It took a while but ESPN eventually got its nose under the tent.
I’m from the government and I’m here to help.
Sigh. I agree there are much more pressing things in this country that our “leaders” should focus on. This is a indictment on the NCAA…who is the NCAA…well the NCAA is all those University presidents who all agreed to be part of the NCAA…that’s UGA, UF, Texas, tOSU…you get the picture (no pun intended). So you’re telling me that all these “esteemed” University “leaders” can’t come together and figure this crap out…”we need the government to save us” is pure BS.
How are you going to enforce this?????The FBI????
I don’t care where you lean politically…this is one area where all these “esteemed” scholars should be ashamed. They can’t figure this out???
I guess not.