Trump Set to Sign Executive Order Expanding NCAA Authority Over NIL and College Athlete Compensation
President Trump is set to sign an executive order this week — possibly as early as Friday — aimed at expanding the NCAA’s authority over name, image and likeness (NIL) and increasing the association’s control over college athletes rather than merely conditioning federal funding. The move follows a March 6 White House roundtable that included Yankees president Randy Levine and all Power Four commissioners, reiterates his July order barring "pay‑to‑play" payments by third parties while directing schools to preserve resources for non‑revenue sports, and comes after the SCORE Act failed to reach a House vote in December when three Republicans joined Democrats to block it.
📌 Key Facts
- Fox News, citing CBS, reports President Trump is set to sign an NIL-related executive order this week — possibly as soon as Friday.
- The order is framed as aimed at increasing the NCAA’s control over athletes in the new name, image and likeness (NIL) era, rather than merely conditioning federal funding.
- The report adds detail on a March 6 White House roundtable that included Yankees president Randy Levine and all 'Power Four' conference commissioners, and quotes Trump saying, 'We have to save college sports, and, I believe, colleges.'
- Trump’s July executive order already prohibits 'pay‑to‑play' payments by third‑party sources, but did not otherwise restrict NIL payments from those sources and requires schools to preserve resources for non‑revenue sports.
- The article notes the SCORE Act failed to reach a House vote in December after three Republicans joined Democrats to block it from the floor, a development the piece portrays as sharpening the political context the new order is responding to.
📊 Relevant Data
In a 2025 survey of Division I college athletes, White athletes were more likely to generate revenue from social media NIL deals compared to athletes of color, even with smaller social media followings.
The NIL Divide: How Race And Class Shape Who Gets Paid In College Sports’ New Era — StudyFinds.org
As of 2024, 71% of NIL activity is concentrated in football and men's basketball, sports where Black athletes comprise 40% and 44% of participants respectively, compared to 16% of all NCAA student-athletes in 2025.
Leveling the Playing Field: Narrowing Equity Gaps in NCAA NIL Policies — Medium
In the On3 NIL Top 100 list as of 2024, 61% of the top-earning college athletes are Black, while Black athletes make up only 16% of all NCAA student-athletes in 2025.
Data and Demographics Driving NIL Deals — University at Buffalo School of Law
📰 Source Timeline (2)
Follow how coverage of this story developed over time
- Fox News, citing CBS, says Trump is set to sign the NIL‑related executive order this week and it could be signed as early as Friday.
- The article frames the order’s core purpose as aiming to 'increase the NCAA’s control over athletes during the new era of name, image and likeness,' rather than only conditioning federal funding.
- It adds more detail on the March 6, 2026 White House roundtable participants (including Yankees president Randy Levine and all Power Four commissioners) and quotes Trump saying, 'We have to save college sports, and, I believe, colleges.'
- The piece reiterates that Trump’s July executive order already prohibits 'pay‑to‑play' payments by third‑party sources, while clarifying it did not otherwise restrict NIL payments from those sources and requires schools to preserve resources for non‑revenue sports.
- It notes the SCORE Act failed to reach a House vote in December after three Republicans joined Democrats to block it from the floor, sharpening the political context the order is responding to.