Tennessee athletic director Danny White heard the news of Texas reportedly spending a pretty penny on their 2025 roster. In response, he wanted to reassure Volunteers fans around the globe that they’re doing everything they can to compete in the SEC.

According to Kirk Bohls of The Houston Chronicle, Texas will spend “between $35 million and $40 million” on the 2025 roster. Players will reportedly be paid through multiple different avenues, including revenue-sharing, once the House settlement is reached. The Longhorns are still using a collective as well.

“It currently sits somewhere, ‘between $35 million and $40 million,’ which counts the likely revenue-sharing allotment expected to be $20.5 million as well as payouts through the Texas One Fund, a connected source tells the Houston Chronicle,” Bohls said.

Bohls went on to add that quarterback Arch Manning is the highest-paid player on the roster “by far” but “doesn’t take a dime from the school.” Manning has signed multiple NIL deals with big-time brands in recent months and Bohls reports everything has been arranged by him and his family. No help has come from the school.

With that in mind, White claimed that it’s tough to pinpoint which reports are true, and which ones are exaggerated. Tennessee’s numbers might not be as gaudy, but the Volunteers leader spoke about the unique situation college football is in regarding NIL and roster building in response to the news coming out of Texas.

“I think it’s hard to know what’s true,” White told the media, via Volquest. “Numbers have been thrown out. We are as competitive as anyone else in the NIL space. We came out the gate as a leader, and continue to have our foot on the gas. Knowing how our resources have grown — in the last four years, we’ve grown from $140 million in annual revenue, to where when we close our books this year, closer to $280 million, almost double. That’s this fanbase. That’s why we’re here doing this.

“Whatever the rules of engagement are, if it’s about investing in our teams, and making sure that they have every advantage possible, that’s what we’re going to do. We’re a competitive administration. We have competitive coaches. We’re not generating all this revenue to make me feel good, we’re generating revenue to investment in our programs and compete at a high level.”

All told, it’s tough to argue with Danny White, as Tennessee has been doing everything it can to compete for a national title on the football field. We’ll see how the Volunteers do in 2025, but after making the College Football Playoff last season, the goal will certainly be to make a bit of a run this season.

After meeting with former Alabama coach Nick Saban this week, President Donald Trump is considering an executive order “that could increase scrutiny” of NIL payments and the future of college athletics, the Wall Street Journal reported. Saban introduced Trump ahead of Thursday’s commencement address in Tuscaloosa.

During their meeting, which took place Thursday night, Saban expressed concern about the amount of NIL dollars added to the college sports landscape, according to the Wall Street Journal. The legendary coach said he thought it was damaging college athletics. Trump agreed and said he would consider drafting an order, telling aides to start studying what that could look like.

Saban’s point was more about “reforming” NIL, the Wall Street Journal said, and creating more of an even playing field. That echoes similar comments he made publicly about the need for competitive balance as the space continues to shift.

NCAA leadership has taken multiple trips to Capitol Hill for discussions about NIL and college sports. Last month, leaders from across collegiate athletics took a trip to Washington, D.C. for College Sports Day. Saban has also spoken in front of Congress about regulation, notably doing so in a roundtable hosted by Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) last year.

NCAA president Charlie Baker and SEC commissioner Greg Sankey also spoke multiple times about the need for national legislation to help regulate NIL. Saban also did so on ESPN’s College GameDay this past football season, calling for stability with both NIL and the transfer portal.

“I personally think we probably need some national legislation to make the rules the same in all the states because right now, different rules govern each state in terms of what you can and can’t do with players,” Saban said in December. “I think it’s up to the NCAA to sort of [say], we’ve gone overboard a little bit to give these players all these opportunities. You have to have contracts.

“If you have a contract, you have a responsibility, and you have to fulfill the contract. … It’d be for coaches and players, and the players should make money. I’m not against the players making money. They should make money. But they should have a contract and a responsibility to fulfill, just like a coach does, and there’s some penalty if you leave a team and you have a contract. Just like most coaches have buyouts, and they pay them if they leave. … I think the NCAA is afraid of lawsuits, so they need some legal protection from litigation for this to get fixed.”

NCAA also waiting on House settlement decision

News of the executive order consideration comes as the college sports world waits for a decision on the landmark House v. NCAA settlement. The agreement would transform the landscape and usher in the revenue-sharing era if fully approved. In addition, athletes would have to report any deals worth more than $600.

Judge Claudia Wilken issued an order last week delaying final approval of the settlement, telling attorneys to change verbiage regarding roster limits in the agreement. She gave them two weeks to do so, and that deadline is coming up May 7.

During the April 7 hearing in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, Wilken told attorneys for both the plaintiffs and NCAA to address her concerns about roster limits within one week. Lawyers then filed a supplemental brief, but did not change the verbiage around roster limits after Wilken suggested phasing them in or grandfathering athletes currently on rosters.

In her order, Wilken said she would deny settlement approval if the roster limit changes are not made. She added that while the settlement received preliminary approval, that did not mean final approval was a certainty.

SPOKANE, Wash. (AP) — Former Arizona State forward Adam Miller is transferring to Gonzaga.

The university announced the move Friday, saying Miller has signed a financial aid agreement.

Gonzaga will be the fourth school for Miller, an Illinois native who has scored 1,206 points in 117 games for Arizona State, LSU and Illinois. He has one year of eligibility left.

Miller started all 30 games for Arizona State last season, averaging 9.8 points and shooting 42.9% from 3-point range.

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AP college basketball: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-basketball-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/college-basketball

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Trump’s review of the matter comes in the wake of a conversation he had with former Alabama football coach Nick Saban earlier this week.

• Sen. Richard Blumenthal, amid talks with Sen. Ted Cruz for bill, says Trump “has no power to attempt to rule by decree — especially to give handouts to the NCAA.”

WASHINGTON ― President Donald Trump is giving “serious consideration” to signing an executive order that would address payments to college athletes, a person familiar with the matter confirmed to USA TODAY on May 2.

As the issue of name, image, and likeness makes its way to a possible conclusion and regulation in the world of college athletes, the United States government is getting involved as the courts continue to sort out the issue.