Trump considers executive order on college athlete payments

By Chris Cameron and Maggie Haberman

President Donald Trump is considering an executive order to examine payments made to college athletes and whether they have created an unfair system, two people briefed on the matter said Friday.

Trump’s focus on the issue — which he’s talked about in the past, one of the people briefed on the matter noted — was renewed after he spoke with Nick Saban, the famed former University of Alabama football coach, backstage at an event last Thursday night in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, where Trump delivered an address to graduates.

The Wall Street Journal first reported on Trump’s consideration. The two people who were briefed on it were not authorized to speak publicly.

The executive order would address newly expanded opportunities for student-athletes to monetize their athletic careers. Last year, the NCAA, the organization that governs much of college sports, agreed to settle a class-action antitrust lawsuit that had accused it and its member schools of exploiting student-athletes while hoarding the profits of the lucrative college sports industry.

The $2.8 billion settlement, which is nearing approval, created a revenue-sharing plan for college athletics in which schools would start directly paying their athletes, a major shake-up of the college sports landscape. The NCAA has removed restrictions on athletes monetizing their athletic careers through endorsements and sponsorships — known as “name, image and likeness” payments.

The changes initiated an arms race in college athletics, as wealthy teams offered larger and larger compensation packages to lure top talent into their programs. Star players have since signed deals worth millions of dollars.

Saban, while coaching the Alabama Crimson Tide football team, criticized the payments, saying that the system favored wealthy college sports programs that could afford to offer better compensation to the best players. He argued that the system was not “sustainable.”

Saban could not be immediately reached for comment. Other critics have said the payments are distorting the competitiveness of college sports, beyond football. This year’s men’s national basketball tournament, beloved by fans for its unpredictability, featured the fewest upsets in recent memory.