AI-assisted summary President Trump issued an executive order aiming to regulate name, image, and likeness (NIL) deals in college sports.

The order seeks to prohibit third-party, pay-for-play payments while allowing fair-market-value compensation like endorsements.

It also addresses scholarship opportunities for women’s and non-revenue sports and calls for clarification on the employment status of student-athletes.

President Donald Trump announced an executive order aiming to limit the name, image and likeness deals that have gone rampant in college sports in recent years. The real-world impact of the NIL order is unclear.

On Thursday, July 24, the White House posted the order — which claims the president is “saving college sports” in its title — that among other things “prohibits third-party, pay-for-play payments to collegiate athletes.” The order goes on to say that “legitimate, fair-market-value compensation” such as brand endorsements would still be permitted.

College sports has been in a state of flux since the House and Alston cases that went to the Supreme Court opened the floodgates for athletes to make money via commercials and endorsements. It did not, however, begin the era of star athletes being paid millions of dollars to play for a school: The legend of “bag men” delivering big money from boosters to prospects goes back decades. The order seems to target collectives that college programs use to organize NIL deals for their players, though, like many things in the order, the specifics are unclear.

How does Trump’s executive order change the college sports landscape? Here’s a look at what it says and, perhaps more importantly, what it doesn’t say:

Trump executive order on college sports

The order announced July 24 calls for the “preservation and, where possible, expansion of opportunities” for women’s and non-revenue sports. Most NIL money goes to football and basketball players, though some athletes in other sports have raked in million-dollar NIL deals. In February, Trump signed an executive order banning trans women from competing in women’s collegiate athletics despite NCAA President Charlie Baker testifying there are “less than 10” such athletes among 500,000 in the country.

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Here’s what the order broke down for non-revenue sports:

Athletic departments with more than $125 million in revenue should provide more scholarship opportunities for non-revenue sports than last year and should provide the maximum number of roster spots permitted under NCAA rules.

Those with $50 million in revenue should provide at least as many scholarships for non-revenue sports as last year with the maximum number of roster spots permissible.

Colleges with $50 million or less in athletic revenue should not disproportionately reduce scholarships or roster spots based on how much revenue the sport generates.

The order calls on the Secretary of Labor and the National Labor Relations Board “to clarify the status of student-athletes.” In a unanimous 2021 decision in House v. NCAA, the Supreme Court set the table for college athletes to be considered employees of their schools and thereby eligible for the according benefits and pay. The settlement in the case took effect July 1, opening the period for colleges to directly pay athletes for the first time through a revenue-sharing model.

The order also calls on the Attorney General and Federal Trade Commission to “protect student-athletes’ rights and safeguard the long-term stability of college athletics from endless, debilitating antitrust and other legal challenges.” It also asks the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic committees to meet with White House officials to “protect the role of college athletics in developing world-class American athletes.” It’s unclear what those measures would entail.

What does Trump NIL executive order mean for college sports?

That answer is unknown, especially in light of some of Trump’s prior calls to action on the subject falling by the wayside. Trump seemed ready to form a college sports commission co-chaired by legendary former Alabama football coach Nick Saban, but there has been no word of progress since.

There is little illuminating language in the order and little indication what can actively be done to stem the tide of college athletes seeking financial compensation for their work. It’s widely agreed that college athletes should be paid, especially considering TV contracts to air their games are now worth $10 billion and coaches such as Saban can more than $11 million a year. Meanwhile, a bill in the U.S. House of Representatives on the subject of college athletics is expected to move toward a vote once Congress returns from summer recess in September. NCAA President Charlie Baker and leaders of three House committees said their focus would be on the bill.

Trump had a busy day. He visited the Federal Reserve and had a public argument with Fed Chair Jerome Powell as he seeks to fire him (something he does not have the authority to do), later signing executive orders to cancel $9 billion in foreign aid and public broadcasting funding. Meanwhile, his administration is dealing with the ongoing battle over records in the Jeffrey Epstein case as the Department of Justice was issued a subpoena over the list of names attached to the convicted child sex trafficker. A DOJ official met July 24 with Ghislaine Maxwell, Epstein’s co-conspirator, at federal prison in Tallahassee.

Contributing: Paul Myerberg, USA TODAY