President Donald Trump plans to sign an executive order limiting NIL money for college athletes. NIL is an acronym for Name, Image, and Likeness.
NIL offers financial compensation to college athletes by allowing them to license the rights to their name, image and likeness.
But NIL is unregulated and the system is abused by schools that can offer student athletes more money to hit the transfer portal.
Some college athletes receive millions of dollars while women’s sports programs receive next to nothing.
This week, the U.S. House of Representatives introduced an amended bill called the SCORE Act (Student Compensation and Opportunity through Rights and Endorsements) “to promote fair compensation with respect to intercollegiate athletics, and for other purposes.”
The bill opens the door for federal regulation of NIL deals. The SCORE Act overrules various state laws related to NIL deals.
Trump, Colorado football coach Deion Sanders and legendary coach Nick Saban are among the many critics of NIL deals.
Deion Sanders called for a cap on NIL money for each school.
“That’s what the NFL does. The problem is, you’ve got a guy that’s not that darn good, and you could give him a half-million dollars, and you can’t compete with that. That don’t make sense,” Sanders said.
Former Tennessee Volunteers quarterback Nico Iamaleava dramatically quit the team in April after his demand for $4 million was rejected.
On April 20, the UCLA Bruins offered Iamaleava $2 million to transfer from Tennessee.
Nick Saban quit coaching Alabama’s football team in 2023 after he complained that Alabama couldn’t pay athletes as much money as other schools.
Saban has said he’ll return to coaching if NIL money is regulated. Saban won seven national titles, the most in college football history.
