🏅We're still waiting for the college sports executive order

Hi everyone,

After a spring and summer of lawsuits, settlements, Congressional intervention and now an indefinite waiting game for an executive order, football is right around the corner. SEC Media Days took place this week in Atlanta, and we’re only five weeks out from actual games. But between now and then, there’s still plenty of off-field drama set to unfold — and primed for us to analyze.

Let’s get to it.

— Joan

The Big 3

The (still) looming college sports executive order

President Donald Trump has long discussed the idea of signing an executive order that would suggest new policies across college sports. This week, speculation came to a head, and a draft of the proposed order began to circulate Thursday, first reported by Yahoo Sports. As of Friday evening, Trump had not signed any order, and the draft is expected to change, according to multiple reports.

The draft of the order included directions for the attorney general and Federal Trade Commission to give college leaders protection from antitrust law around the “long-term availability” of scholarships and opportunities for athletes. It also directed them to prevent “unqualified and unscrupulous” agents from representing athletes.

“It is no exaggeration to say that America's system of collegiate athletics plays an integral role in forging the leaders that drive our Nation's success,” the draft reads. “Yet the future of college sports is under unprecedented threat.”

There was some pretty immediate pushback to the draft. Steve Berman, one of the lead plaintiff attorneys in the House settlement, wrote in a statement to Yahoo Sports: “Plain and simple, college athletes don’t need Trump’s help, and he shouldn’t be aiding the NCAA at the expense of athletes.”

Policy talk at SEC Media Days

To go along with all the football, there was plenty of policy talk at SEC Media Days this week. Conference commissioner Greg Sankey responded to reports about Trump’s plans to sign an executive order related to college sports, critiquing the president’s language around the proposed order. 

“The president clearly has an interest in sports, big picture, has an interest in college sports, has been at our games,” Sankey said. “The notion of an executive order has been mentioned before. There were some reports of a commission or an executive order back to like, April, I think, is when that started to bubble. So we’ll wait and see.”

Arkansas coach Sam Pittman also had some interesting comments on the post-House settlement changes, speculating that revenue sharing could even the playing field. “Financially, with revenue sharing, I think we are finally back on even keel with everybody, which we weren't,” he said, speculating that spending might count as an excuse for the Razorbacks’ recent struggles.

NIL in women’s hoops

As the future of the collective system in college sports becomes uncertain, some critics of the College Sports Commission’s recent guidance and the NIL Go crackdown on collective payments have raised a gender-based argument for the pre-House settlement status quo: Sure, revenue-sharing payments could replace collective dollars for many athletes — but most schools are spending nearly all their revenue-sharing budget on football and men’s basketball. So what about the athletes in other sports? What about the women?

In a timely story this week, the Associated Press checked in with several high-profile young women’s basketball players who’ve profited in the NIL era. Some are in the WNBA and have kept their deals going, and others are thriving in college. It’s an interesting look at the money these women are making and the good they’re doing with it; Flau’jae Johnson’s deal with Experian relieved more than $5 million in debt from Louisiana families.

NIL BLITZ

♦️ The Athletic wrote a comprehensive story about the brewing fight between collectives and schools.

♦️ A House of Representatives subcommittee advanced the SCORE Act, a bill that would once again change the landscape of college sports.

♦️ SEC commissioner Greg Sankey responded to reports that President Donald Trump plans to sign an executive order related to college sports.

♦️ Oregon coach Dan Lanning spoke about the trend of general managers in big-time college sports.

♦️ Big-money signings are coming to college hockey.

♦️ The Athletic profiled Oba Femi, the WWE rising star who used NIL to pave his path from Nigeria to wrestling fame.

♦️ Outgoing Oklahoma athletic director Joe Castiglione talked about how his job changed in recent years.

♦️ Over at Extra Points, we’ve been covering the many eligibility lawsuits (stories linked here and here) that have popped up over the past few months. Sportico went deep on a recent major development.

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BATTER UP

Today’s Poll Question:

Last Edition’s Poll Results:

Will college athletes gain employee status in the next five years?

• Yes - 47%

• No - 34%

• No, but eventually - 19%