White House Committee Proposes Federal Task Force, Antitrust Exemption to Regulate College Athlete Pay, Transfers and Media Rights

President Donald Trump is ramping up pressure on Congress to overhaul college sports. He warned the system could be lost forever as a White House-backed committee pushes sweeping changes to rein in athlete pay, transfers and soaring costs. The proposals include creating a task force to examine pooled media rights, limits on coaching salaries, rewritten eligibility rules and changes to the transfer portal, according to a draft document obtained by Yahoo Sports and reported by The Associated Press.

The draft proposal calls on Congress to quickly pass legislation creating a task force with an antitrust exemption and authority to override individual state laws. The draft committee document calls for lawmakers to act before Congress leaves for its traditional August recess. The push builds on a recent executive order signed by President Donald Trump.

The order described college athletics as an out-of-control financial arms race fueled by loosening rules around player compensation, transfers and eligibility. It urged federal action before the system destabilizes further. "Further delay is not an option given what is at stake," the executive order states.

It cites roughly 500,000 annual educational, athletic and leadership opportunities provided by college athletics along with nearly $4 billion in scholarships. The White House said the current model is driving universities into debt, threatening women’s and Olympic sports and undermining student-athletes’ educational opportunities.

President Donald Trump spoke to reporters as he walked to board Marine One on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington on May 8, 2026.

During a White House roundtable in April 2026 he said "crazy things are happening" as players stay in school longer and earn more through NIL deals. President Donald Trump hosted NCAA collegiate national champions at the White House in April 2026. Trump’s executive order directs agencies that contract with or give grants to higher education institutions to evaluate violations of college athletics rules including eligibility limits, transfers, revenue sharing and improper financial activities.

The order defines improper financial activities to include fraudulent NIL schemes, use of federal funds for NIL or revenue-sharing payments and interference with contracts between student-athletes and other schools. The White House urged college athletics governing bodies to clarify rules before Aug.

1 including limits on eligibility, transfer rules, medical care for athletes and protections for women’s and Olympic sports.

Congress has been stalled for more than a year on legislation codifying parts of the House settlement that put revenue-sharing into place. Among the most divisive ideas is pooling media rights across conferences. The move is opposed by the Southeastern Conference and Big Ten but backed by a group led by Texas Tech regent Cody Campbell.

Cody Campbell has argued that pooling media rights could add billions in value. The draft also calls for rules targeting salary-cap circumvention via third-party NIL deals. Nebraska football players brought an arbitration case after their NIL deals were rejected by the College Sports Commission.

On March 30, 2026. Fox News reported that without new regulations on transfers and eligibility, college athletics face chaos and financial ruin.