Trump Presidential Commission aimed to Fix College Athletics focusing on NIL, Trade Portal, Athlete Jobs, Conference Re-Alignment, Media Rights

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President Donald Trump is reportedly preparing to launch a Presidential Commission focused on college athletics — a move that could reshape the future of the sport at the national level.

According to Yahoo Sports' Ross Dellenger, the commission would explore major issues currently facing college sports, including NIL, the transfer portal, athlete employment, Title IX, and the chaotic landscape of conference realignment and media rights. The effort is expected to take months and involve a mix of voices from across the industry.


“Trump’s involvement, though not surprising, is a landmark moment in college athletics history — the country’s most powerful elected leader potentially shaping the future of the industry,” Dellenger wrote.

The commission is expected to include college athletics stakeholders, influential business figures tied to major programs, and possibly even a former coach or administrator. Legendary Alabama coach Nick Saban is reportedly expected to play a significant role after he and Trump met last week during the former president’s visit to Tuscaloosa for a University of Alabama graduation ceremony.

“During Trump’s visit to Tuscaloosa last week to give a graduation address at the University of Alabama, Trump and Saban met about college sports legislation — a meeting that’s now transformed into plans for this executive group to be formed,” Dellenger reported.

There’s also talk that Trump could announce the commission via executive order. The initiative could even “increase scrutiny” of how name, image, and likeness deals are handled, according to a separate report from the Wall Street Journal.


“Details of the commission are for now being kept private,” Dellenger added, “but the group is expected to feature college sports stakeholders, prominent businesspeople with deep connections to college football and, perhaps, even a former coach and administrator.”

If the plan comes to fruition, it would mark a highly unusual — and potentially far-reaching — intervention in college sports from one of the most prominent figures in American politics.

Link USA Today

MSN

 

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Attorney in $2.78 billion NIL settlement blasts Nick Saban & Trump for ‘unneeded’ meddling​

Attorneys representing athletes in the announced NCAA legal settlement of Name, Image and Likeness rules are accusing former Alabama coach Nick Saban of “unneeded self-involvement” after his reported talks with President Donald Trump.

Saban reportedly met with Trump last week in Tuscaloosa during the president’s trip to the University of Alabama to address graduates. The Wall Street Journal reported that Trump is mulling over issuing an executive order to address college football’s NIL payments.


Attorneys at Hagens Berman law firm said in a statement that Saban’s involvement, and talk of an executive order, was “unmerited and unhelpful.”

A pending $2.78 billion settlement with the NCAA, announced last year, resolves three antitrust lawsuits and would pay out damages to college athletes over a 10-year period.

It would also eliminate rules prohibiting schools from making direct payments to athletes, and expand compensation and benefits available to athletes. It would be one of the largest class action settlements in history.

The firm’s managing partner and co-founder, Steve Berman, the court-appointed co-lead counsel, blasted Saban’s involvement.

“While he was a coach, Saban initially opposed NIL payments to athletes, pushing to add restrictions and red tape through national legislation to add ‘some sort of control.’ During his time scrutinizing the athlete pay structure, he made tens of millions of dollars and was previously the highest-paid coach in college football,” Berman said.


“Coach Saban and Trump’s eleventh-hour talks of executive orders and other meddling are just more unneeded self-involvement. College athletes are spearheading historic changes and benefitting massively from NIL deals. They don’t need this unmerited interference from a coach only seeking to protect the system that made him tens of millions.”

The settlement is currently being reviewed by Judge Claudia A. Wilken of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California.

NIL began in the summer of 2021 when the NCAA allowed student athletes to begin profiting off their name, image and likeness.

The former Alabama coach, who retired in 2024, said NIL and the way it had changed players’ attitudes was one of the reasons that made him leave the game.

However, the coach’s objections have dealt with the steady escalation of payments among larger schools.

“The people who are supporting this, they really get no benefit for it,” Saban said. “I’m sure there’s going to be some instances in the future where those people don’t want to continue to support players that aren’t there. How would you feel if you gave $500,000 to your program, and it was to pay certain players, and those players all left after one year? You would say, ‘I don’t know if I’m going to continue to do this.‘”

 

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Fans Rallying for Change As U.S. Pres. Donald Trump Considers Executive Order To Tackle NIL Following Nick Saban Meeting​

A recent report from The Wall Street Journal revealed that U.S. President Donald Trump is exploring an executive order to address the growing concerns surrounding NIL deals in college sports.

This news follows a meeting with legendary Alabama coach Nick Saban, whose influence on the sport has been significant. Fans, coaches, and even lawmakers are already discussing the possibility of federal involvement in NIL, and it’s igniting enthusiasm and lively discussions across the country.

Fans Hopeful As Donald Trump Announces Potential Executive Order Aimed at NIL Regulation​

While NIL creates an avenue for student-athletes to earn money through sponsorships, endorsements, and other ventures, it has also created a lawlessness of sorts in college sports, with some programs now having a competitive edge with significant financial support.


The meeting between President Trump and Saban, which took place before their joint appearance at Alabama’s commencement ceremony last week, has become a focal point for college football fans. Saban, who retired from coaching in 2024 after a storied career at Alabama, has expressed concerns about the impact of NIL on the sport.



According to The Wall Street Journal, Saban told Trump that the influx of NIL money has created an “athlete arms race” among top programs, where schools with deeper pockets can essentially buy talent, leaving smaller programs at a disadvantage.

President Trump reportedly agreed with Saban’s concerns. Sources cited by The Journal say Trump has tasked his staff with studying the issue and drafting a potential executive order that could increase scrutiny on NIL deals.

While the specifics of the order remain unclear, the idea of federal oversight has struck a chord with fans.

The push for NIL reform isn’t limited to Trump and Saban. Lawmakers have also noticed, with figures like Alabama Senator Tommy Tuberville, a former college football coach, speaking out.


“Had a great conversation with President Trump last night about the importance of establishing national standards for NIL. College football is the heart and soul of America — but it’s in danger if we don’t level the playing field,” he wrote, echoing the concerns of many fans,” the post read.


Since taking office just over 100 days ago for his second term, Pres. Trump has signed more than 140 executive orders. While this news has stirred rumors of NIL reform, the details of what this potential order could entail are still unclear.

 

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U.S. Senator turns heads by wanting more control over NIL​

The gloves are off, and Senator Tommy Tuberville isn’t holding back. In a recent interview with CNN, the former Auburn football coach-turned-lawmaker doubled down on his mission to reshape college athletics—and it starts with rolling back what he sees as the chaos created by Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL) compensation.



“I think the NIL is in dire need of restructuring,” Tuberville said, referencing a new college sports commission in the works, with Alabama legend Nick Saban reportedly involved. The commission, according to Tuberville, is designed to bring “order” back to the NCAA’s new financial era—where players now hold a piece of the power that used to belong solely to schools and coaches.

But let’s be clear: Tuberville isn’t just concerned with fairness—he wants control. In an earlier radio interview, Tuberville spelled out what he envisions: “Everybody would be on the same level. We’ve got to come up with some rules for the transfer portal, possibly a contract for players.” Translation? Less money, less mobility, and more regulation on the athletes

And he’s not alone. Tuberville cited conversations with Auburn basketball coach Bruce Pearl, who called NIL and the transfer portal “an absolute disaster.” But who’s it really a disaster for? Players like Livvy Dunne, Bronny James, and Shedeur Sanders raked in millions—earning what the market says they’re worth. On3 recently estimated Dunne’s NIL valuation at $3.9 million, while Sanders was close to $4.6 million.


The outcry from coaches and politicians sounds less like concern for college sports and more like panic over a shift in power dynamics. Tuberville’s push to restrict freedom and earning potential paints a clear picture: they want amateurism for the players and professionalism for everyone else.

The danger? If this commission is formed without athlete representation, it won’t be reform—it’ll be regression.

Fans of college sports need to stay loud. NIL isn’t the problem—it’s progress. And if Tuberville gets his way, the clock might just be turned back on the student-athletes who’ve finally started to win.

Link Athlon Sports

MSN

 

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NCAA president opens the door for Trump to weigh in on NIL rules​

The head of the National Collegiate Athletic Association is welcoming the possibility of Donald Trump and the executive branch weighing in on the name, image and likeness rules for college athletes.

Last week, I wrote about former college football coach Nick Saban’s meeting with Trump, in which he’s said to have urged Trump to take executive action to control the system that currently allows college athletes to earn money from their name, image and likeness (NIL). Saban has previously suggested today’s college athletes are too entitled, and he’s found an ally in Republican Sen. Tommy Tuberville of Alabama, who’s also a former college football coach who has complained about the current system. It’s a pairing that raises doubts that any solution they propose will favor players rather than the colleges that rely on their labor. More recent news reports indicate that Trump is considering naming Saban and a billionaire Texas Tech booster to a commission on college athletics that could include NIL rules.

During a gathering on Monday, NCAA President Charlie Baker expressed openness to government involvement. According to The News & Observer of Raleigh, N.C.:

‘I think the fact that there’s an interest on the executive side on this, I think it speaks to the fact that everybody is paying a lot of attention right now to what’s going on in college sports,’ said Baker, a former Republican governor of Massachusetts. ‘There is a lot going on, that’s not all bad, and I’m up for anything that helps us get somewhere.’

On whether Trump or his commission’s involvement would bring about the NIL legislation that some NCAA officials have been seeking for years, Baker said, “I don’t have a crystal ball on that one, I don’t know." He added, “We do need some help at some point to create some clarity out of some of these issues in Washington. Creating clarity one lawsuit at a time is just a really bad way to try to move forward.”


So it looks like the NCAA is taking a different approach to Trump’s potential meddling in their institution. Where some organizations, like a handful of law firms, have resisted Trump’s edicts that attempt to dictate how they operate, the NCAA is “up for anything.”

This article was originally published on MSNBC.com