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NIL

Universities must support student athletes academically even with new NIL rules

Luke Fedlam is a partner and co-chair of the Entertainment, Sports and Media Practice at Amundsen Davis.With the proposed House v. NCAA settlement on the horizon, the structure of college athletics is poised for a historic shift. Participating Power Four institutions — along with any additional schools that opt in — will allocate $20.5 million […]

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Universities must support student athletes academically even with new NIL rules


Luke Fedlam is a partner and co-chair of the Entertainment, Sports and Media Practice at Amundsen Davis.With the proposed House v. NCAA settlement on the horizon, the structure of college athletics is poised for a historic shift. Participating Power Four institutions — along with any additional schools that opt in — will allocate $20.5 million annually in revenue sharing to student-athletes.

It’s a long-overdue acknowledgment of the commercial value athletes bring to college sports.

But amidst the financial breakthrough, a foundational promise is being overlooked: education.

The very institutions tasked with preparing young people for life are now direct participants in commercial transactions with their own students. As schools assume the role of an informed and prepared counterparty Name, Image, and Likeness arrangements — helping to facilitate deals, co-brand partnerships or provide NIL-related payments — an inherent conflict emerges.

It becomes increasingly difficult for these same institutions to serve as impartial educators in matters where their own interests are also at stake.

What makes this moment more urgent is the retreat we’re seeing from athletic departments. Faced with tightening budgets and new NIL obligations, many programs are scaling back or eliminating third-party educational resources that student-athletes need now more than ever.

Having worked with athletes across the country — from top-tier high schools to powerhouse Division I programs — I have observed the same pattern time and again: young people (and their families) are navigating complex financial and legal issues without adequate preparation.

And the stakes are too high to let them figure it out on their own.

Ohio State Buckeyes offensive lineman Carson Hinzman (75) calls out a play during the second half of the NCAA football game against the Indiana Hoosiers at Ohio Stadium in Columbus on Saturday, Nov. 23, 2024. Ohio State won 38-15.

There are four critical areas where immediate, sustained education is not only advisable — it is imperative:

  1. Contract literacy: Student-athletes are signing both NIL marketing and representation agreements that bind them to long-term obligations. Some contracts include perpetual rights to their name and image, restrictive endorsement clauses, complex termination provisions and unfair sublicensing rights. In many cases, athletes and their families have no experience interpreting such documents — and do not even know where to begin. While knowledgeable legal professionals exist in this space, access remains uneven and often unavailable to those who need it most. And to be clear, a marketing agent does not offer the same level of protection, nor unbiased education, to a student-athlete.
  2. Tax compliance: NIL earnings are not wages. Student-athletes are classified as independent contractors for tax purposes when it comes to NIL, and therefore, taxes are not withheld from their payments. Unless an athlete proactively sets aside money for tax liabilities, they face potential financial exposure that can quickly escalate. I’ve met with athletes who earned over seven figures through NIL — and failed to withhold money for taxes. The consequences of that kind of financial misstep can far outlast any college career.
  3. Financial management: NIL introduces significant income into the lives of student-athletes — many of whom are receiving substantial payments for the first time. Without financial literacy education, these young earners may spend impulsively, make ill-advised investments or provide unsustainable financial support to friends and family. A basic understanding of budgeting, saving and long-term planning is not a luxury; it is a necessity that should be integrated into every athletic department’s student support strategy.
  4. Career preparation beyond sports: Despite the attention NIL deals receive, 98% of college athletes will not go on to play professionally. Many will graduate and enter a job market where traditional starting salaries bear no resemblance to the sums they received in college for making a few social media posts or public appearances. NIL is not a career path — it is a temporary and highly situational source of income that is momentary and market-driven. Without a plan for life after sports, and without a dose of realism with post-college starting salaries, student-athletes risk being unprepared, mentally or psychologically, for the professional world when a college career comes to an end.

The ethical obligation for education in this new era is clear.

Schools cannot reasonably benefit from the commercial success of their athletes while neglecting the educational responsibilities that ought to come with it. If institutions are unable to provide independent, conflict-free education internally, they must engage trusted third-party educators, advisors and legal experts to do so. To do otherwise is to profit while abdicating duty.

This is a transformative moment in college athletics.

The financial recognition of student-athletes is long overdue — but compensation without education is exploitation in a new form. The path forward must be built on transparency, empowerment and a sincere commitment to the long-term wellbeing of student-athletes. 

Anything less would be a betrayal of the very principles higher education claims to uphold.

Luke Fedlam is a partner and co-chair of the Entertainment, Sports and Media Practice at Amundsen Davis.

Luke Fedlam is a partner and co-chair of the Entertainment, Sports and Media Practice at Amundsen Davis. He advises athletes and their families, specializing in education, legal protection and long-term planning in the Name, Image, and Likeness era.

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NIL

Copy of Trump signs order to clarify college athletes’ employment status amid NIL chaos :: WRALSportsFan.com

By WILL WEISSERT, Associated Press WASHINGTON — WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump on Thursday signed an executive order mandating that federal authorities clarify whether college athletes can be considered employees of the schools they play for in an attempt to create clearer national standards in the NCAA’s name, image and likeness era. Trump directed […]

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— WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump on Thursday signed an executive order mandating that federal authorities clarify whether college athletes can be considered employees of the schools they play for in an attempt to create clearer national standards in the NCAA’s name, image and likeness era.

Trump directed the secretary of labor and the National Labor Relations Board to clarify the status of collegiate athletes through guidance or rules “that will maximize the educational benefits and opportunities provided by higher education institutions through athletics.” The order does not provide or suggest specifics on the controversial topic of college athlete employment.

The move comes after months of speculation about whether Trump will establish a college sports commission to tackle some of the thorny issues facing what is now a multibillion-dollar industry. He instead issued an order intended to add some controls to “an out-of-control, rudderless system in which competing university donors engage in bidding wars for the best players, who can change teams each season.”

“Absent guardrails to stop the madness and ensure a reasonable, balanced use of resources across collegiate athletic programs that preserves their educational and developmental benefits, many college sports will soon cease to exist,” Trump’s order says. “It is common sense that college sports are not, and should not be, professional sports, and my administration will take action accordingly.”

There has been a dramatic increase in money flowing into and around college athletics and a sense of chaos. Key court victories won by athletes angry that they were barred for decades from earning income based on their celebrity and from sharing in the billions of revenue they helped generate have gutted the amateurism model long at the heart of college sports.

Facing a growing number of state laws undercutting its authority, the NCAA in July 2021 cleared the way for athletes to cash in with NIL deals with brands and sponsors — deals now worth millions. That came mere days after a 9-0 decision from the Supreme Court that found the NCAA cannot impose caps on education-related benefits schools provide to their athletes because such limits violate antitrust law.

The NCAA’s embrace of NIL deals set the stage for another massive change that took effect July 1: The ability of schools to begin paying millions of dollars to their own athletes, up to $20.5 million per school over the next year. The $2.8 billion House settlement shifts even more power to athletes, who have also won the ability to transfer from school to school without waiting to play.

At Big Ten Conference football media days in Las Vegas, Purdue coach Barry Odom was asked about the Trump order.

“We’ve gotten to the point where government is involved. Obviously, there’s belief it needs to be involved,” he said. “We’ll get it all worked out. The game’s been around for a hundred years and it’s going to be around 100 more.”

The NCAA has been lobbying for several years for limited antitrust protection to keep some kind of control over this new landscape — and avoid more crippling lawsuits — but a handful of bills have gone nowhere in Congress. Trump’s order makes no mention of that, nor does it refer to any of the current bills in Congress aimed at addressing issues in college sports.

NCAA President Charlie Baker and the nation’s largest conferences both issued statements saying there is a clear need for federal legislation.

“The association appreciates the Trump administration’s focus on the life-changing opportunities college sports provides millions of young people and we look forward to working with student-athletes, a bipartisan coalition in Congress and the Trump administration,” said Baker, while the conferences said it was important to pass a law with national standards for athletes’ NIL rights as soon as possible.

The 1,100 universities that comprise the NCAA have insisted for decades that athletes are students who cannot be considered anything like a school employee. Still, some coaches have recently suggested collective bargaining as a potential solution to the chaos they see.

It is a complicated topic: Universities would become responsible for paying wages, benefits, and workers’ compensation and schools and conferences have insisted they will fight any such move in court. While private institutions fall under the National Labor Relations Board, public universities must follow labor laws that vary from state to state and it’s worth noting that virtually every state in the South has “right to work” laws that present challenges for unions.

Trump’s order also:

— Calls for adding or at least preserving athletic scholarships and roster spots for non-revenue sports, which are those outside football and basketball. The House settlement allows for unlimited scholarships but does impose roster limits, leading to a complicated set of decisions for each program at each school that include potential concerns about Title IX equity rules. Trump said “opportunities for scholarships and collegiate athletic competition in women’s and non-revenue sports must be preserved and, where possible, expanded.”

— Asks the Justice Department and Federal Trade Commission to “preserve college athletics through litigation” and other actions to protect the rights and interests of athletes — a stance that could influence ongoing lawsuits filed by athletes over eligibility and other issues.

— Directs White House staff to work with the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee to protect the collegiate pipeline feeding Team USA. College sports programs produce around three-quarters of U.S. Olympians at a typical Summer Games, but some are on uncertain footing as schools begin sharing revenue with athletes and the lion’s share going to football and basketball.

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AP National Writer Eddie Pells contributed.

___

AP college sports: https://apnews.com/hub/college-sports



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Trump signs order to clarify college athletes’ employment status

By WILL WEISSERT, Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump on Thursday signed an executive order mandating that federal authorities clarify whether college athletes can be considered employees of the schools they play for in an attempt to create clearer national standards in the NCAA’s name, image and likeness era. Trump directed the secretary of labor and the […]

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By WILL WEISSERT, Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump on Thursday signed an executive order mandating that federal authorities clarify whether college athletes can be considered employees of the schools they play for in an attempt to create clearer national standards in the NCAA’s name, image and likeness era.

Trump directed the secretary of labor and the National Labor Relations Board to clarify the status of collegiate athletes through guidance or rules “that will maximize the educational benefits and opportunities provided by higher education institutions through athletics.” The order does not provide or suggest specifics on the controversial topic of college athlete employment.

The move comes after months of speculation about whether Trump will establish a college sports commission to tackle some of the thorny issues facing what is now a multibillion-dollar industry. He instead issued an order intended to add some controls to “an out-of-control, rudderless system in which competing university donors engage in bidding wars for the best players, who can change teams each season.”



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The Clemson Insider

CHARLOTTE — After a career year a season ago, Antonio Williams seriously considered forgoing his senior season at Clemson and making the move to the NFL. Williams was a catalyst for the resurgent Tigers’ offense last season, recording 75 receptions for 904 yards with 11 touchdown catches, leading the team in all three categories. After […]

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CHARLOTTE — After a career year a season ago, Antonio Williams seriously considered forgoing his senior season at Clemson and making the move to the NFL.

Williams was a catalyst for the resurgent Tigers’ offense last season, recording 75 receptions for 904 yards with 11 touchdown catches, leading the team in all three categories. After that kind of season, it would have been understandable had he decided to enter the NFL Draft.

However, Williams wasn’t pleased with some of the feedback he was getting and ultimately decided to return for one more go around at Clemson.

“I had to really sit down and think about what was best for my future,” Williams told The Clemson Insider. “I didn’t like some of the grades I was getting back from the draft. I didn’t want to settle and just go be a draft pick just because I could. I have a level of expectation for myself of where I want to go and what type of player I think I am. That was the biggest thing coming back.”

There is a risk/reward involved with coming back due to the ever-existent possibility of an injury. After missing most of his sophomore campaign for that very reason, it’s something Williams is more than familiar with.

At the end of the day, Williams decided the risk was worth the reward because he feels that he has unfinished business with the Tigers.

“Wanting to be remembered and build a great legacy here,” Williams added. “I want to leave the receiver room better than I found it.”

Then there is the money factor. With the advent of NIL and a new revenue-sharing model that took effect on July 1, Williams is going to be well compensated for his final season at Clemson, and depending on where he might have been picked, possibly being paid even more than he would have next season had he decided to enter the draft.

“For sure. When you look at the numbers and things like that, if we couldn’t make any money in college, then obviously, if you are in it for money, then there would be no question of going to the NFL,” Williams said. “You can actually profit off your NIL in college and that is great.”



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Cumberland partners with Opendorse to launch NIL program

Cumberland is partnering with Opendorse to enhance its efforts surrounding name, image and likeness (NIL), providing Phoenix student-athletes the tools and resources needed to build their personal brand and capitalize on new opportunities. Opendorse is a leading NIL platform and marketplace in college athletics, helping student-athletes connect with brands, fans and donors to monetize their […]

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Cumberland partners with Opendorse to launch NIL program

Cumberland is partnering with Opendorse to enhance its efforts surrounding name, image and likeness (NIL), providing Phoenix student-athletes the tools and resources needed to build their personal brand and capitalize on new opportunities.

Opendorse is a leading NIL platform and marketplace in college athletics, helping student-athletes connect with brands, fans and donors to monetize their name, image and likeness. With this partnership, Cumberland student-athletes will gain access to a suite of tools through the Opendorse platform including education, compliance resources and marketing opportunities to support NIL growth.

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What to know about Donald Trump's executive order on NIL and college sports

President Donald Trump on Thursday issued an executive order titled “SAVING COLLEGE SPORTS,” a directive aimed at regulating the rapidly shifting landscape in college sports. Since 2021, college athletes have been able to profit off their name, image and likeness after a Supreme Court ruling on antitrust laws went in favor of the athletes. In […]

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What to know about Donald Trump's executive order on NIL and college sports

President Donald Trump on Thursday issued an executive order titled “SAVING COLLEGE SPORTS,” a directive aimed at regulating the rapidly shifting landscape in college sports.

Since 2021, college athletes have been able to profit off their name, image and likeness after a Supreme Court ruling on antitrust laws went in favor of the athletes. In the ensuing years, players have been able to get paid legally via third parties, and after a separate lawsuit was settled in June, athletes can now also be paid directly by their schools.

The NIL era, however, has raised a variety of concerns for both schools and athletes, with issues ranging from maintaining equality in women’s sports to a potential push for collective bargaining between athletes and their respective colleges.

Trump’s order, which is not itself a law, essentially calls for an implementation of policies that are widely viewed as NCAA (as opposed to athlete) friendly.

Here’s what to know.

What exactly does Trump’s order call for?

Trump’s order said that, in the wake of legislation that allows athletes to be compensated and transfer freely between schools, “the future of college sports is under unprecedented threat.”

The EO goes on to say that the recent rulings have unleashed “a sea change that threatens the viability of college sports” and more guardrails are needed to ensure a fairer system.

So, what would Trump like to see? The order calls for the following:

  • Prohibiting third parties from engaging in direct “pay-for-play” payments to athletes, which the order deems improper. Currently, school boosters can sign players to multimillion-dollar NIL deals that are widely viewed as a workaround to directly paying players to attend a certain university. Trump’s order says players should only earn “fair market value” for a legitimate service to a third party, such as a brand endorsement. Advocates for athletes say this would impose a cap on their earnings.
  • Protections on scholarships for nonrevenue sports, requiring schools to maintain or increase scholarships for such sports, depending on the revenue of their athletic departments. This would be a measure largely to protect Olympic sports and women’s sports from potential decreases in funding as more money goes to revenue-generating athletes in football and basketball.
  • A clarification from the National Labor Relations Board on the employment status of athletes “that will maximize the educational benefits and opportunities provided by higher education institutions through athletics.” During the Biden administration, the NLRB issued a memo stating that certain college athletes should be considered employees. That memo was rescinded earlier this year, and now Trump is seeking to codify athletes as non-employees, which would almost certainly take away any opportunity they have to collectively bargain with schools.
  • Protections for the NCAA from lawsuits by athletes. The NCAA has been lobbying for these protections for many years, as many of the big changes in college athletics have come as the result of antitrust lawsuits. Protections against further court cases would allow the NCAA to enforce its rules on issues such as transfers and third-party payments without fear of them being upended by another court ruling.

What does this all mean for the immediate future?

Nothing immediately.

Trump cannot unilaterally impose rules in this scenario. His executive order also comes as the House tries to push through the SCORE Act, a bipartisan piece of legislation that is aligned with much of Trump’s executive order. The SCORE Act has moved through committee and can be debated on the House floor when representatives return from recess in September.

Meanwhile, there has been a bipartisan push in the Senate to introduce its version of legislation regarding college athletes, with Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, and Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J., among those involved.

“The many challenges facing college sports are important and complex,” Sen. Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., said in a statement to NBC News. “The Executive Order recognizes the importance of preserving Olympic sports, women’s sports, and maintaining competitiveness for big and small schools alike. I’m disappointed that the President abandoned his earlier plan for a commission to examine all the issues facing college sports. We need a sustainable future for college sports, not a future dominated by the biggest and wealthiest schools who can write their own rules without accountability.”

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Saban praises Trump order on college sports, pay-to-play restrictions

NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles! Former Alabama head football coach Nick Saban gave kudos to President Donald Trump for signing an executive order that set new restrictions on payments to college athletes on Thursday.  The order prohibits athletes from receiving pay-to-play payments from third-party sources. However, the order does not impose any […]

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NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles!

Former Alabama head football coach Nick Saban gave kudos to President Donald Trump for signing an executive order that set new restrictions on payments to college athletes on Thursday. 

The order prohibits athletes from receiving pay-to-play payments from third-party sources. However, the order does not impose any restrictions on NIL payments to college athletes by third-party sources.

“I think President Trump’s executive order takes a huge step in providing the educational model, which is what we’ve always tried to promote to create opportunities for players, male and female, revenue and non-revenue, so they can have development as people, students, and develop careers and develop professionally if that’s what they choose to do,” Saban told “Fox & Friends” on Friday. 

CLICK HERE FOR MORE SPORTS COVERAGE ON FOXNEWS.COM 

Trump and Saban

President Donald Trump shakes hands with legendary Alabama football coach Nick Saban before delivering a special commencement address to University of Alabama graduates at Coleman Coliseum. Graduation occurs over the weekend.  (Gary Cosby Jr.-Tuscaloosa News)

“I think we sort of need to make a decision here relative to do we want to have an education-based model, which I think the president made a huge step toward doing that, or do we want to have universities sponsor professional teams? And I think most people would choose the former.”

The order states that “any revenue-sharing permitted between universities and collegiate athletes should be implemented in a manner that protects women’s and non-revenue sports.”

“The Order requires the preservation and, where possible, expansion of opportunities for scholarships and collegiate athletic competition in women’s and non-revenue sports.” 

No clear guidelines for how those sports would be accounted for were provided in the initial announcement. However, Saban seemed confident that college sports are safe.

Donald Trump poses with Nick Saban

President Donald Trump poses with Alabama Crimson Tide head coach Nick Saban and members of the Crimson Tide ceremony honoring the college football playoff champion Crimson Tide on the South Lawn at the White House on April 10, 2018. (Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports)

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“I think the clearing house is there to authenticate name, image and likeness. In other words, is your marketing value relative to what you’re getting paid to do a marketing opportunity? When you cross that line, that’s when it becomes pay for play,” he said. “So you have collectives that raise money that pay players, and they really don’t do a relative marketing job to earn that money, and that’s where this whole thing has kind of gotten sideways. I think this whole clearing house is there to sort of protect the collective affecting competitive balance in college sports.”

“I’m for keeping all the sports that we have as many as we can have, but there are financial concerns relative to how many sports can you promote that don’t create revenue,” Saban added. “I think one of the things people need to understand about college sports, they say it’s a business, but it’s really not a business. It’s revenue-producing, and two sports have created the revenue to have 20 other sports. And I think that’s why it’s important we have a system in place. I think President Trump’s made the first step…that would protect the opportunities that we’ve been able to provide male and female non-revenue sports. I think it’s everybody’s goal to keep all those opportunities intact.”

Donald Trump and Nick Saban

FILE – President Donald Trump gestures as Alabama Crimson Tide head coach Nick Saban (L) smiles at a ceremony honoring the college football playoff champion Crimson Tide on the South Lawn at the White House on April 10, 2018. (Geoff Burke-USA Today Sports)

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Saban and Trump met back in May to discuss the current state of college athletes and NIL deals. Saban retired in 2024, largely due to the new culture.

Fox News’ Jackson Thompson contributed to this report.

Follow Fox News Digital’s sports coverage on X, and subscribe to the Fox News Sports Huddle newsletter.





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