President Donald Trump hosted a college football roundtable on Friday with dozens of administration members and sports figures. At the session, the 79-year-old brought up several issues in college athletics, focusing on NIL deals. Attendees included NCAA president Charlie Baker, NBA commissioner Adam Silver, and even ESPN analyst Nick Saban. As per reports, Tiger Woods, Bryson DeChambeau, Tim Tebow, and retired coaches Tony Dungy and Mack Brown were invited, but were not able to attend.
Trump drops NIL bombshell
Talking at the roundtable, the president quickly addressed NIL (Name, Image, and Likeness) issues.
“The amount of money being spent and lost by otherwise very successful schools is astounding, just in a short period of time,” Trump said. “It’s only going to get worse.
“It’s crazy. Young people are being signed, 17-year-old quarterbacks for $12 million, 13 million, 14 million.”
Who attended Trump’s college sports roundtable on Friday
Internal Participants (Cabinet/Secretaries)
Secretary Marco Rubio, Department of State
Secretary Scott Bessent, Department of Treasury
Secretary Doug Burgum, Department of Interior
Secretary Howard Lutnick, Department of Commerce
Secretary Linda McMahon, Department of Education
External Participants
Valerie Ackerman, Commissioner, Big East
Charlie Baker, President, NCAA
Pete Bevacqua, Athletic Director, University of Notre Dame
Dave Blitzer, Co-Owner, Philadelphia 76ers, NJ Devils, & Washington Commanders
Cody Campbell, Board Chair, Texas Tech University System
Gerry Cardinale, Partner, USFL, NY Yankees, Fenway, etc.
Joe Castiglione, Athletic Director, University of Oklahoma
Jim Clements, Former President, Clemson University
Scott Dolson, Athletic Director, Indiana University
Boris Epshteyn, Senior Personal Counsel to the President
Marc Ganis, President, Managing Director, & Co-Founder, SportsCorp
Sarah Hirshland, CEO, USOPC
Lou Lamoriello, Hockey Hall of Fame
Randy Levine, President, New York Yankees
Seth Levinson, Sports Agent, ACES
Urban Meyer, Former Head Coach, Ohio State University
Tim Pernetti, Commissioner, American Athletic Conference (AAC)
Tony Petitti, Commissioner, Big Ten
Jim Phillips, Commissioner, ACC
Jimmy Pitaro, Chairman, ESPN
Donde Plowman, Chancellor, University of Tennessee
Taylor Randall, President, University of Utah
Condoleezza Rice, Former United States Secretary of State
Nick Saban, Former Head Coach, University of Alabama
Greg Sankey, Commissioner, SEC
Eric Shanks, CEO, Fox Sports
Adam Silver, Commissioner, NBA
Charlie Ward, Head Basketball Coach, Florida A&M
Brett Yormark, Commissioner, Big 12
John Currie, Athletic Director, Wake Forest
John Donohue, Director of Athletics, Stanford
Doug Girod, Chancellor, University of Kansas
Dr. Jeff Gold, President, University of Nebraska
Robert Klein, Redbird Capital
Jere Morehead, President, University of Georgia
Jamie Pollard, Athletic Director, Iowa State University
Jack Swarbrick, Former Athletic Director, University of Notre Dame
Elected Officials
Governor Ron DeSantis (R-FL)
Speaker of the House Mike Johnson (R-LA-04)
House Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-LA-01)
Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX)
Senator Eric Schmitt (R-MO)
Chairwoman Lisa McClain (R-MI-09)
Representative Jim Jordan (R-OH-04)
Representative Brett Guthrie (R-KY-02)
