The Trump administration’s Department of Education has rescinded Biden-era guidelines on Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL) compensation for student-athletes, marking a significant shift in the intersection of college sports and Title IX compliance.
Key Takeaways
- Trump administration rescinds Biden-era NIL guidance, citing lack of legal justification
- Biden guidance treated NIL compensation as athletic financial assistance subject to Title IX
- New stance separates NIL issues from Title IX enforcement
- Move aligns with broader considerations of fair inclusion in collegiate sports
- Rescission impacts revenue-sharing models and gender equity in athlete compensation
Trump Administration Overturns Biden’s NIL Guidance
In a decisive move, the Trump administration’s Department of Education has rescinded guidance issued by the Biden administration regarding Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL) compensation and Title IX compliance in collegiate sports. This action represents a significant pivot in how student-athlete compensation is viewed in relation to gender equity requirements.
Department of Education rescinded Title IX guidance saying NIL payments must be equal between a school’s male and female athletes
Big news for cfb programs. This policy aligns more closely with what most expected when they started planning for the future of NIL at their schools
— Graham Coffey (@GrahamCoffeyDC) February 12, 2025
The Biden administration’s guidance, released just before Trump’s inauguration, had considered NIL compensation as “athletic financial assistance” that should be equitably distributed between men’s and women’s programs. This interpretation aimed to apply gender equity principles to the rapidly evolving landscape of student-athlete compensation.
Legal Justification and Burden on Institutions
Acting Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights, Craig Trainor, spearheaded the rescission, arguing that the Biden-era guidance lacked proper legal grounding and placed an undue burden on educational institutions. Trainor emphasized that Title IX, enacted over 50 years ago, does not explicitly address the allocation of compensation among student-athletes in revenue-generating sports programs.
“Enacted over 50 years ago, Title IX says nothing about how revenue-generating athletics programs should allocate compensation among student athletes. The claim that Title IX forces schools and colleges to distribute student-athlete revenues proportionately based on gender equity considerations is sweeping and would require clear legal authority to support it. That does not exist. Accordingly, the Biden NIL guidance is rescinded.” – Craig Trainor
The Trump administration deemed the Biden guidance as overreaching and potentially harmful to collegiate athletic programs. Republicans had previously criticized the guidance, suggesting it could lead to colleges cutting athletics programs to comply with the stringent requirements.
Implications for Revenue Sharing and Gender Equity
The rescission of the Biden-era guidance has significant implications for how colleges approach revenue sharing and NIL deals. Under the previous guidance, payments from revenue-sharing agreements or NIL deals were required to be proportionately available to male and female athletes. This requirement forced schools to reconsider their revenue-sharing plans to comply with gender equity considerations.
“The NIL guidance, rammed through by the Biden Administration in its final days, is overly burdensome, profoundly unfair, and it goes well beyond what agency guidance is intended to achieve.” – Craig Trainor
With the rescission, NIL payments no longer need to be proportional based on gender. This change aligns with a pending court settlement that would allow colleges to share up to $20.5 million with athletes, primarily benefiting football and men’s basketball players. However, this has raised concerns among some athletes, including groups of women athletes, who argue that such arrangements may not equitably benefit all athletes and could disproportionately favor men in high-revenue sports.
The Department of Education’s guidance that NIL compensation paid by schools to athletes should be treated like financial aid, and therefore paid out proportionately to male/female athletes, has officially been rescinded.
This was expected. https://t.co/q28m278j5R
— Mit Winter (@WinterSportsLaw) February 12, 2025
Broader Impact on Collegiate Sports Governance
The Trump administration’s action is part of a broader shift in collegiate sports governance. It aligns with other recent changes, including President Trump’s executive order banning transgender girls and women from participating in women’s sports. Additionally, the Department of Education has called for the NCAA and other associations to address records and awards affected by transgender athletes in women’s sports.
These changes reflect a complex and evolving landscape in collegiate athletics, where issues of fair competition, gender equity, and student-athlete compensation continue to intersect and challenge traditional models of governance. As the debate continues, stakeholders across the collegiate sports ecosystem will need to navigate these changes carefully, balancing the interests of athletes, institutions, and the principles of fair play and equal opportunity.
Sources:
- NCAA revenue sharing: Trump administration rescinds Biden’s Title IX Policy, NIL guidance
- Trump administration rescinds Title IX guidance on athlete pay
- Trump Administration Cancels Biden-Era Gender Rule on NIL Money
- Trump Education Dept rescinds Biden administration’s ‘profoundly unfair’ guidance on NIL compensation | Fox News
