Trump Plans Executive Order to Tie College Federal Funding to NCAA NIL Rules

President Donald Trump is preparing to sign an executive order as soon as Friday that would expand the NCAA’s control over college sports by threatening to review federal grants and contracts for universities that do not comply with NCAA rules, according to a senior White House official. The move responds to a $2.8 billion court settlement that allows Division I schools to directly pay athletes for name, image and likeness (NIL) and requires retroactive payments for NIL opportunities denied from 2016–2025, costs that some colleges say are running into the millions. Trump has repeatedly blasted the new NIL system as financially unsustainable, citing examples of teenage quarterbacks offered eight‑figure deals and warning that colleges could go bankrupt, and he has also argued that the changes could hurt women’s sports and U.S. Olympians who train at American campuses. The White House hopes the order will prod Congress to revive stalled legislation such as the SCORE Act, which would standardize NIL rules and add athlete protections, but critics in sports‑law circles are already questioning on social media whether the administration can legally condition broad research and other federal funding on adherence to NCAA policies. The looming order signals a major federal intervention into what has largely been an NCAA‑ and state‑driven fight over how college athletes are paid and who controls the rapidly commercializing college‑sports economy.