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Name, image and likeness is taking college sports by storm, and it might take the government to slow it down.
After meeting with Alabama head coach Nick Saban Thursday, President Donald Trump is reportedly considering an executive order to regulate NIL deals in college athletics.
According to The Wall Street Journal, Saban told Trump the influx of money has hurt college sports. Saban does not want to halt NIL payments but wants them “reformed.”
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President Donald Trump shakes hands with legendary Alabama football coach Nick Saban before delivering a commencement address to University of Alabama graduates at Coleman Coliseum. (Gary Cosby Jr./Tuscaloosa News)
In an appearance on Fox News Channel last year, Saban urged Congress to step in and make NIL “equal across the board.”
“And I think that should still exist for all players, but not just a pay-for-play system like we have now where whoever raises the most money in their collective can pay the most for the players, which is not a level playing field. I think in any competitive venue, you want to have some guidelines that gives everyone an equal opportunity to have a chance to be successful,” he said.
Saban said the NCAA “can handle” NIL and whatever changes are necessary, but Congress “needs to” add “national legislation.”
President Donald Trump delivers remarks to graduating students at Coleman Coliseum at the University of Alabama May 1, 2025, in Tuscaloosa, Ala. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)
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“Now, we just have the state legislation — and every state is different — that would protect the NCAA from litigation once we establish guidelines for the future of college athletics. But the litigation is what got us to this point right now,” Saban said. “We have to have some protection from litigation. I don’t know if it’s antitrust laws or whatever.
“I’m not versed enough on all that to really make a recommendation. But I know we need some kind of federal standard and guidelines that allows people to enforce their own rules.”
The NCAA last week passed rules by which colleges would be allowed to pay athletes as a result of a multibillion-dollar lawsuit settlement expected to go into effect this summer.
Earlier this week, Sen. Tommy Tuberville, R-Ala., said “if anyone” can help regulate NIL, “it’s President Trump.”
Donald J. Trump, the Republican nominee for president, waves to the crowd as he speaks with Republican Sen. Katie Britt, R-Ala., at Bryant-Denny Stadium for a football game between the Alabama Crimson Tide and the Georgia Bulldogs in Tuscaloosa, Ala., Sept. 28, 2024. (Gary Cosby Jr./Imagn Images)
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Saban introduced Trump Thursday at an event for Alabama’s graduating students, where Trump gave a speech.
In the speech, Trump raved about Alabama’s athletic programs, saying the school is a place “where legends are made.”
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