Nick Saban And Trump Consider NIL Regulation By Executive Order Amid Legal Skepticism

As President Donald Trump reportedly considers an executive order to regulate Name, Image and Likeness (NIL) rights for college athletes — following a meeting with former University of Alabama Head Coach Nick Saban — debate continues to intensify over the evolving power dynamics in college sports.

Veteran attorney Michael Elkins, Esq., founder of MLE Law and host of the “Quarter Four” podcast, offered a sharp legal perspective on the matter, casting doubt on the feasibility of executive intervention.

“I dont believe the President can regulate NIL or college athletics via Executive Order,” Elkins said, citing constitutional limitations and the decentralized structure of collegiate sports.

Elkins, who has negotiated numerous NIL deals, also addressed the growing outcry from current and former NCAA coaches critical of the transfer portal and players leveraging NIL opportunities to negotiate deals.

“This sentiment from coaches and fans is misplaced,” he noted, adding that before NIL and the portal, student-athletes were often “stuck” at schools even as coaches regularly switched jobs — often with contract buyouts funded by their new employer — pursuing greater compensation and prestige.

“Now student-athletes are doing the same thing, and yet we hear the familiar refrain, this is ruining the game. Thats the height of hypocrisy,” Elkins said.

The legal debate comes as the NCAA faces continued legal and legislative challenges over compensation and athlete rights, and as discussions swirl about Saban possibly co-chairing a new college sports reform commission.

Elkins argues that calls to restrict player movement reflect discomfort with the shifting power structure, where athletes now have the ability to maximize their market value.

“The tradition that no longer exists was the suppression of student athletes’ ability to earn money and to maximize their market value,” he said. “I get it, it’s hard to watch a patriarchal empire crumble. The next time you hear a coach bemoan NIL and the ability of student-athletes to dictate terms, ask yourself, did that coach ever leave a job while under contract for more money and/or notoriety?”