Here’s what Trump has to say about NIL in college sports

President Donald Trump isn’t a big fan of college athletes being paid for the use of their name, image and likeness.

In fact, he trashed NIL in response to a question about it Friday.

During a ceremony at the White House to honor the gold-medal winning 1980 U.S. Olympic hockey team, a reporter asked about NIL deals and the transfer portal, noting the “Miracle on Ice” players were amateurs who didn’t get paid.

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Team captain Mike Eruzione said he didn’t like it, but that’s the state of college sports today and “we have no control over that.”

Trump, though, said maybe there is something to do about it.

“I think the NIL is a disaster for sports. It’s horrible for the Olympics, and I think it’s actually horrible for the players,” he said.

Trump said colleges are cutting “lesser” sports, those that don’t bring in revenue but help train athletes for the Olympics.

“Those sports don’t exist because they’re putting all their money into football, and by the way, they’re putting too much money into football,” Trump said.

As NIL and now revenue sharing has entered college sports, many schools across the country are having to make tough decisions about whether to maintain Olympic or nonrevenue sports.

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The House v. NCAA settlement allows universities to pay their athletes up to $20.5 million per year, which works out to about 22% of the average athletic department revenue at Power Four schools. The vast majority of the money goes to football and men’s basketball players, the two most revenue-generating sports at most universities.

“You can’t pay a quarterback $14 million to come out of high school. They don’t even know if he’s going to be a very good player,” Trump said. “Colleges cannot afford to pay the kind of salaries you’re hearing out there.”

The highest reported NIL payments for football players have been in the $6 million to $8 million range. But Trump said schools won’t be able to stop paying more and more to get the player they believe will win them a national championship.

“You’re going to have these colleges wipe themselves out. And something ought to be done and I’m willing to put the federal government behind it. But if it’s not done fast, you’re going to wipe out colleges. They’re going to get wiped out, including ones that do well in football,” Trump said.

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The president didn’t specify what he thinks the federal government should do. Several bills regulating NIL have been filed in Congress, but none have gained traction.

“Colleges cannot afford to play this game, and it’s a very bad thing that’s happening,” he said.

Private equity enters college sports

Trump comments come as the University of Utah became the first school in the country to announce a deal with a private equity firm to infuse cash into its athletics program.

University administrators said the program has operated efficiently and generated a modest surplus over the years with the support of donors and student fees. But the decision to share revenues with athletes under the House settlement and the emergence of the transfer portal have added significant costs to the school.

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The cost of supporting a nationally competitive athletics program has risen dramatically and far outpaces revenue growth, they said.

Utah intends to create a for-profit company called Utah Brands & Entertainment through its university foundation. It will partner with Otro Capital to run the commercial side of its sports program.