President Donald Trump is putting together a commission to look at name, image and likeness in NCAA football and other sports. Also known as NIL, this policy allows college athletes to make money while in school. Former Alabama football coach Nick Saban is confirmed to be on this commission, per U.S. Senator Tommy Tuberville (R-AL), and reported by On3.

“Nick Saban is gonna be involved. I think the NIL is in dire need of restructuring,” Tuberville said in an interview on CNN and reported by On3.

Critics of NIL say the policy has become a pay-for-play system, where schools with the most money simply buy players. Critics also say NIL disproportionately hurts smaller schools. These are some of the reasons why Trump is getting the federal government involved.

“He’s got a commission that he’s putting together. I’ve recommended some people to go on it, of course. I’ve been working on it for four years,” Tuberville added.

Saban is rumored to be the point person of this commission, put together by President Trump. The U.S. Congress has also debated NIL and proposed legislation to offer guard rails on the policy, but no law has been passed.

The NCAA is looking at reshaping NIL for football and other sports

President Trump’s commission is not the only body looking at reshaping NIL. NCAA President Charlie Baker has also proposed several changes to it. These changes include allowing schools to directly negotiate with players over NIL compensation. Currently, collectives help distribute NIL compensation directly and not schools.

The NCAA is also in court over this issue. In what is known as the House settlement, the agency is agreeing to have schools pay money to athletes who were previously denied NIL benefits.

Details are still getting ironed out.

“Moving forward, if final approval of the settlement is granted, NCAA rules will permit schools to provide direct financial payments to student-athletes, including for use of a student-athlete’s name, image and likeness. Schools have until June 15 to decide whether to opt to provide benefits that would be permissible under the settlement for the coming academic year,” the NCAA said in a statement.

No matter what happens with the settlement, it is clear that college athletics is forever changed. In years past, the NCAA would not allow college athletes to make money.

The details of the Trump NIL commission are still very much in the air. It’s unclear how much authority the commission could have in implementing changes to NIL, without a law being passed by Congress.

Charles Barkley is not a fan of the NCAA’s management of NIL and the transfer portal. 

Barkley, 62, didn’t mince words when talking about the current state of college basketball. 

“The NCAA, they’re a bunch of idiots and fools. They have ruined the sport. I don’t know how you put the toothpaste back into the tube,” Barkley said during a recent appearance on OutKick’s “Don’t @ Me with Dan Dakich.”

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Barkley isn’t opposed to college players getting paid, but has trouble making sense as to how much money players are making, and how frequently players can now switch schools. 

“This notion that you have to come up with tens of millions of dollars to pay kids to play basketball, and have them be free agents every year and transfer to another school and get more money every year. Like, we don’t even get to do that in the NBA. Can you imagine if players in the NBA got to be a free agent every year? I’m not opposed to players getting paid, I want to make that clear,” Barkley said. 

“But, this notion we gotta give college kids tens of millions of dollars a year, and basketball is the worst, because you’re only gonna get a great player for six months. I don’t even see how you’re gonna get the return on investment.”

CHARLES BARKLEY RAISES CONCERNS FOR BILL BELICHICK AS FORMER NFL COACH’S PERSONAL LIFE THRUST INTO SPOTLIGHT

Barkley was asked whether he would ever donate to his alma mater, Auburn, to help its NIL fund, but the Basketball Hall of Famer would rather donate his money to more important causes. 

“I just gave 10 million dollars to HBCU’s, that stuff is way more important to me. I just gave a couple million dollars to ‘Blight’, in my hometown of Birmingham, to rebuild houses,” Barkley said. 

“That stuff is way more important to me than joining the cesspool that is college athletics. We’re such a s—– country, Dan. We have ruined college athletics, and I don’t wanna even get in that cesspool.”

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If even the 11-time All-Star were to give money to Auburn’s NIL fund, he isn’t sure how he would get his return on investment. 

“If I give a guy three or four, five, seven, some guys are getting six, seven, eight million dollars, I’m not sure how I get my return on investment if he’s only going to be at my college for one year, and you’re probably not going to win the championship,” Barkley said.

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College football analyst Josh Pate recently went on record to state he believes Michigan Football deserves some real consequences, amid the current controversy surrounding the school and the ongoing NCAA scandal.

According to reports from ESPN , Michigan is expected to suspend its head coach, Sherrone Moore, for two games this season due to his role in the scandal, which has come to be known as the Michigan sign-stealing scandal.

Josh Pate Believes NCAA Should Throw The Book At Michigan

In a recent tweet , Pate said he believes that if the allegations against Michigan are true, they should face some severe consequences, which begin with scholarship losses.

“For several level-1 violations (if upheld?) Massive fines, loss of scholarships, and a multi-year postseason ban,” Pate suggested, offering further thoughts on a recent episode of his show.

“My thing is, I saw them happen, and if I’m a Michigan fan, I wouldn’t care, I saw it happen, I bought the tickets, I sat in the stadium, I celebrated,” Pate explained, offering his opinion on the potential punishment Michigan could face, which includes vacated losses and titles.

“I’m not gonna let sanctions they hand down that are cosmetic in nature, affect my view of history, of my program, that’s how I would feel if I were a Michigan fan,” Pate continued.

Josh Pate Believes Scholarship Cuts May Be Outdated Punishment In NIL-Dominated Era

Another potential punishment that Michigan could face if they are found guilty of sign-stealing allegations is scholarship cuts that could affect their recruitment; however, Pate believes that these punishments could be considered “outdated” in the current era.

“There’s another thing, the NCAA used to do, that they could still do, but in the NIL Era and the Transfer Portal Era, I’m not sure how much this really means, what if they stripped some scholarships away from Michigan?” Pate said.

“It used to be that it reduced the number of players on your roster, but nowadays you can pay kids millions of dollars to come play football for you,” Pate explained, revealing how pointless the potential punishment of scholarship losses would be.

“Also, if the University really wanted to, they could just give a kid an academic scholarship, put him on the team as a walk-on on and he’s already making money through revenue sharing or an NIL deal tailored to him,” Pate continued.

KEEP READING: ‘Sherrone Moore Is Done At Michigan’ — B1G Insider’s Blunt Warning on Sherrone Moore Future at Michigan

“Is the NCAA really powerful enough to diminish their value as an asset, and there’s really only one way to do that, and that is to remove postseason participation.” Pate said while also suggesting the concept of “multi-year bowl bans.”

“Call it a bowl ban, call it what you want to, are there multi-year bowl bans for major programs that are still on the table, as a measure that the NCAA could take? I’ll flat out have to see it to believe it,” Pate concluded.

Michigan’s hearing with the Committee on Infractions is set to take place on June 6 and 7, according to reports from ESPN.

College Sports Network has you covered with the latest news, analysis, insights, and trending stories in college football , men’s college basketball , women’s college basketball , and college baseball !

College football analyst Josh Pate recently went on record to state he believes Michigan Football deserves some real consequences, amid the current controversy surrounding the school and the ongoing NCAA scandal.

According to reports from ESPN, Michigan is expected to suspend its head coach, Sherrone Moore, for two games this season due to his role in the scandal, which has come to be known as the Michigan sign-stealing scandal.

Josh Pate Believes NCAA Should Throw The Book At Michigan

In a recent tweet, Pate said he believes that if the allegations against Michigan are true, they should face some severe consequences, which begin with scholarship losses.

“For several level-1 violations (if upheld?) Massive fines, loss of scholarships, and a multi-year postseason ban,” Pate suggested, offering further thoughts on a recent episode of his show.

For several level-1 violations (if upheld?)

Massive fines, loss of scholarships, and a multi-year postseason ban

— Josh Pate (@JoshPateCFB) May 9, 2025

“My thing is, I saw them happen, and if I’m a Michigan fan, I wouldn’t care, I saw it happen, I bought the tickets, I sat in the stadium, I celebrated,” Pate explained, offering his opinion on the potential punishment Michigan could face, which includes vacated losses and titles.

“I’m not gonna let sanctions they hand down that are cosmetic in nature, affect my view of history, of my program, that’s how I would feel if I were a Michigan fan,” Pate continued.

Josh Pate Believes Scholarship Cuts May Be Outdated Punishment In NIL-Dominated Era

Another potential punishment that Michigan could face if they are found guilty of sign-stealing allegations is scholarship cuts that could affect their recruitment; however, Pate believes that these punishments could be considered “outdated” in the current era.

“There’s another thing, the NCAA used to do, that they could still do, but in the NIL Era and the Transfer Portal Era, I’m not sure how much this really means, what if they stripped some scholarships away from Michigan?” Pate said.

“It used to be that it reduced the number of players on your roster, but nowadays you can pay kids millions of dollars to come play football for you,” Pate explained, revealing how pointless the potential punishment of scholarship losses would be.

“Also, if the University really wanted to, they could just give a kid an academic scholarship, put him on the team as a walk-on on and he’s already making money through revenue sharing or an NIL deal tailored to him,” Pate continued.

KEEP READING: ‘Sherrone Moore Is Done At Michigan’ — B1G Insider’s Blunt Warning on Sherrone Moore Future at Michigan

“Is the NCAA really powerful enough to diminish their value as an asset, and there’s really only one way to do that, and that is to remove postseason participation.” Pate said while also suggesting the concept of “multi-year bowl bans.”

“Call it a bowl ban, call it what you want to, are there multi-year bowl bans for major programs that are still on the table, as a measure that the NCAA could take? I’ll flat out have to see it to believe it,” Pate concluded.

Michigan’s hearing with the Committee on Infractions is set to take place on June 6 and 7, according to reports from ESPN.

College Sports Network has you covered with the latest news, analysis, insights, and trending stories in college football, men’s college basketball, women’s college basketball, and college baseball!

Deion Sanders is concerned about the future of college football. The present state seems like the Wild West with the market growing rapidly. It’s not only college players cashing in on name, image and likeness, the elite high school talents are finding ways to rack up deals.

Sanders was a guest speaker for an event in Las Vegas and talked about why he rushed to sign his extension with Colorado. He also dropped a comment about NIL and how the players are treating the system.

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“I tried to hurry up and sign the deal,” Sanders said via Well Off Media. “First off, I wanted to get my coaches straight and NIL stuff straight because that stuff is crazy right now. Now it’s pay-per-view with these kids. Because I didn’t want it to affect my other kids. You know, like those pros thinking I want their jobs and would treat my kids unfairly. So I didn’t want that to happen. That’s kind of why I signed expeditiously.”

This isn’t the first time Sanders has commented about how NIL has gotten out of hand. In an interview with USA Today’s Jarrett Bell, He voiced support for a college football salary cap which mirrors the NFL’s structure.

“There should be some kind of cap. Our game should emulate the NFL game in every aspect,” Sanders said. “Rules. Regulations. Whatever the NFL rules, the college rules should be the same. There should be a cap, and every team gets this, and you should be able to spend that.”

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For Sanders, it’s a fight about five years old in this NIL era. While players scrap for millions, there is a pay-for-play system with very little regulations in place.

Related: NBA Legend had words for Shedeur Sanders after first workout

“The competitive advantage is the school that has hundreds of millions of dollars, and not us,” Sanders told Bell. “You look at who’s always in the playoffs, you can look at their budget and look at this budget. That’s the advantage—not who has the autonomy to do a spring game.”

Related: Dan Lanning sends blunt message to Oregon recruits regarding NIL

Beginning in a few months, schools will be allowed to share up to $20.5 million each year with their athletes directly. This isn’t a 100% cap for players, given the fact they could go out and get NIL deals on the open market. However, there will be more oversight from the school who can reject deals viewed as predatory. Nothing like how the NFL is set up with player endorsements.

Related: Jaguars announce Travis Hunter news during minicamp

A different game begs for different rules of engagement. For now, there will be a need for regulations.