Trump reportedly considering NCAA payment limits through executive order following meeting with coach Nick Saban

The president has told his team to start looking into writing an executive order to limit the amount of money in college sports, a new report has claimed.

President Donald Trump met with legendary college football coach Nick Saban last Thursday when the president was in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, to give a commencement speech at the University of Alabama.

According to a report from the Wall Street Journal, Saban spoke to the president about "NIL" deals and told him he thought the influx of money into college sports has been damaging.

Trump reportedly agreed with Saban and said he would have his aides begin to study what a potential executive order could look like.

Furthermore, Saban's suggestions allegedly did not include ending NIL payments, but "reforming" them, according to a person who was said to have direct knowledge of the meeting. Saban reportedly suggested the NIL payments were causing an uneven playing field and have resulted in an arms race among the bigger schools.

This echoed Saban's comments from January, when he claimed on a radio show that the NIL "model is unsustainable."

'There's some parity. Now that everybody can pay their players.'

It should be noted that Saban has been widely criticized for hoarding talent when he coached in Alabama and that name, image, and likeness rules have since leveled the playing field so that players at other schools can still receive compensation.

Even comedian Shane Gillis, a staunch Notre Dame supporter, said in January that Saban was sensitive to criticisms that he is upset that other schools can now pay their players.

"This feels different. Feels like we can win it. You know? There's some parity. Now that everybody can pay their players, Notre Dame has a shot. It's not just the SEC. It's not Coach Saban," Gillis said at the time.

The comedian revealed weeks later that Saban did not care for the comments when they both appeared on an episode of "ESPN's College GameDay."

Gillis said Saban exploded when he approached him, saying, "You think the SEC dominated because we cheated?! That's bulls**t!"

"He spazzed on me," Gillis laughed.

Shane Gillis said Nick Saban was not happy with accusations of the coach paying players. Photo by Gilbert Carrasquillo/GC Images

The NCAA declined to comment to the Wall Street Journal regarding a potential executive order. However, the outlet cited NCAA spokesman Tim Buckley, who said the governing body was confronting some of the challenges facing college sports.

The vast majority of the NCAA's money does not come from college football, though. As Blaze News reported, over 85% of the NCAA's revenue comes from college basketball's March Madness tournament. However, college football has some of the country's biggest young stars, who now generate impressive revenue streams for themselves through endorsements.

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