President Trump Signs Executive Order To 'Save College Sports' With NIL Guidelines, Protect Women's Sports

President Donald Trump has been looking for ways to help fix college sports in this new era of NIL, and while we don't know how this will actually fix college athletics due to the ongoing problems presented by leaders, he has decided to throw his hat into the ring with an executive order that has the support of commissioners and athletic directors. 

Since news broke a few months ago that Trump was looking to get involved in some capacity, there have been rumblings as to when, not if, this order would actually be signed. 

In a release on Thursday, Donald Trump is looking to prohibit third-party NIL payments, while also directing the Secretary of Labor and the National Labor Relations Board to set forth guidelines on the status of student athletes. 

Also, key takeaways centered around Donald Trump now looking towards the Federal Trade commission and the Attorney General to provide some type of antitrust protection to the College Sports Commission, along with collegiate leaders across the country. 

While this will not legally change anything, it does provide the government with some type of guidelines on how to move forward with helping solve some of the current problems. But, it should be noted that any type of pushback from congress, or leaders on college campuses, will be met with potential lawsuits if they try to limit athlete pay. 

"Today, President Donald J. Trump signed an Executive Order to protect student-athletes and collegiate athletic scholarships and opportunities, including in Olympic and non-revenue programs, and the unique American institution of college sports," the White House announced. 

This will obviously lead to plenty of detractors, especially with the White House stance on NIL, which has already seen changes made in the past few days that should be forthcoming soon in new CSC guidelines. 

In the White House release, the President also says that any type of revenue-sharing should be implemented with the thought of protecting women's sports. 

• 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.

To read the full statement from the White House and Donald Trump, you can click here. 

Can Congress Figure Out A Solution? EO Might Speed Things Up, But Problems Still Exist 

We are currently in the middle of congressional leaders hoping to pass the SCORE Act, which aims at protecting schools from having to classify athletes as employees, along with other points that aim towards curtailing NIL running wiid.

But, the biggest component to this order centers around how athletes are paid through NIL. While the NCAA wants some type of legal authority that would provide protection against antitrust lawsuits, along with athletes being classified as employees, this is only going to bring forth further lawsuits down the road if institutions try to use this against the athletes themselves. 

The President mentioned that the executive order prohibits any third-party deal that can be tied to pay-for-play payments, though it does not apply to "legitimate, fair-market-value compensation that a third-party provides to an athlete, such as for a brand endorsement". 

This part of the executive order brings up a fair question regarding NIL payments from third-parties moving forward. 

What is ‘fair-market-value' for an athlete, and who will be making the decision on which deals do not follow the guidelines that will be set forth? If some entity tries to tell an athlete that their particular deal is not ‘fair-market’ compared to another deal made by a different player, this will only lead to lawsuits being filed. 

But, this question will be determined in due time. 

NCAA President Charlie Baker released the following statement on Thursday evening. 

NCAA President Charlie Baker responds to executive  order signed by Donald Trump

Since speaking with former Alabama coach Nick Saban at a commencement speech at the University of Alabama, the president has made it clear that he wants to help college leaders in some form or fashion. 

While I would not expect this executive order to prevent the current actions being taken by congressional leaders, it does add to the further chaos that is evolving around college athletics. 

But, with this now being signed, it will be interesting to see how college leaders respond moving forward. 

This is only the start. If the ongoing discussions about the SCORE Act weren’t obvious enough. The Government is now highly involved in the future of college athletics.