President Trump Signs Executive Order Targeting 'Illegal' NIL Payments, Seeks To Limit Number Of Transfers

INDIANAPOLIS - As the college basketball world prepares for the Final Four this weekend, President Donald Trump has signed an executive order, targeting transfer portal movement and NIL payments from third parties. 

The optics around the timing of this EO have been a hot-button issue over the past few days, with the transfer portal set to open next Tuesday in college basketball. 

So, it shouldn’t come as a surprise that this order, and not the games itself. This would not pertain to the upcoming transfer portal period for basketball. 

Some of the key topics included in the new order try to curtail NIL collectives, along with allowing players to have five years to play five seasons. But, one of the most drastic changes was the committee who helped write this executive order helping implement a change to the transfer process. 

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The new order will also discuss a "one-time" transfer guardrail, which would allow athletes to transfer one time without being penalized, though a second time in the portal would result in them automatically triggering a redshirt season. 

It should be made clear that the executive order is not a form of legislation, nor does it sit higher than any court injunction that is currently in place. 

According to sources, members of different committees set up by the President to tackle these topics of discussion will meet again next week to continue looking for options in to future changes in college sports. 

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Right now, there are five different committees, with members such as SEC commissioner Greg Sankey, Nick Saban, Big Ten's Tony Petitti, ACC's Jim Phillips, along with the likes of New York Yankees President Randy Levine and Texas Tech mega-booster Cody Campbell. 

What Does President Trump Want From Congress?

According to the order, ‘Fraudulent NIL Schemes' will be looked into. What does that mean? 

"A scheme to pay for goods or services, including NIL services, above the actual fair market value of those goods or services in connection with a student-athlete's participation in intercollegiate athletics, including through the use of collectives or similar entities," the executive order states. 

Also, the order implies the NCAA to have new rules in place by August that are permitted by current laws, which would bring stability to the ‘landscape in certain areas, including transfers’ that are problems within collegiate sports. 

Will any of this hold up in a court of law? There are not many who think so at the current time, which is why the White House expects this to end up in multiple courtrooms. 

These new guidelines, though vague at times, would not go into place until August 1st, which is right before the college football season is set to begin. 

As for the transfer portal, the executive order is looking to limit how many times an athlete can transfer without penalty. 

"Provide for the ability to transfer one time during the five-year period with immediate playing eligibility, and one additional such time if the student-athlete obtains a four-year degree."

Obviously, this is going to lead to further lawsuits pertaining to eligibility and transferring, as athletes have decided that taking the NCAA to court in a local jurisdiction is the most beneficial route in potentially getting a favorable judge to rule in their favor. 

"We will be sued, and it will go before a court, and maybe we'll have a judge that thinks it's reasonable and wants to do a favor for the country, because that's the only way this is going to be solved," President Trump said last month. 

Read the full order, here.

Key Points Of New Executive Order On College Sports

In the upcoming order, President Trump is putting an emphasis on funding Olympic and women's sports, with increased funding that would also come with schools being pushed to make sure roster spots are not decreased so that funding could go towards football or basketball. 

• The Order directs Federal agencies to bolster the effectiveness of key college-sports rules on transferring, eligibility, and pay-for-play by evaluating whether violations of such rules render a university unfit for Federal grants and contracts.
• Establishing clear, consistent, and fair eligibility limits, including a five-year participation window;
• Setting structured transfer rules for academic and athletic continuity;
• Ensuring medical care for student-athletes;
• Implementing revenue-sharing in a manner that protects and expands opportunities in women’s and Olympic sports;
• Banning improper financial arrangements including pay-for-play agreements facilitated by collectives and similar entities; and
• Establishing protections against unscrupulous agent conduct.

"This is the future of colleges, the amount of money being spent by a massive amount of schools, we have to save colleges and our Olympic teams," Donald Trump noted last month at the College Sports Roundtable. 

One of the bigger problems is Congress not garnering enough support to pass any type of legislation that would present a more steadfast plan that could end up with the federal government installing stricter rules around college sports. 

Also, if schools do not comply with the executive order, the federal government could start pulling funding from the schools if they were to violate NCAA rules. That alone will spur arguments over the rule of law pertaining to this order. 

The SCORE Act has now failed to reach the House floor twice, but garnering enough votes has been the biggest obstacle over the past two years. And, it would also have to pass through the Senate, with Democrats holding firm with their stance on the Act needing more work towards athletes' rights. 

Coming out of the roundtable in Washington, the president organized five committees that would attack certain elements of college sports that need work, which would then potentially lead to Congress having a better understanding of current problems that need to be included in legislation. 

Nick Saban, Adam Silver, Cody Campbell and commissioners from conferences like the SEC, Big 12, Big Ten and ACC have been involved in these discussions over the past few weeks. 

Now, with the President signing this EO, which he was already expecting to be sued over, you can count on lawyers having a field-day with certain actions that could be coming in the near future.