By Josh Dawsey, Rachel Bachman and Laine Higgins
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 Alabama’s commencement address. Saban talked about “NIL” deals with Trump, telling the president how he believed the influx of money had damaged college sports.
“NIL” stands for “name, image and likeness,” 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 didn’t propose ending NIL but “reforming” 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.
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