Heres whom Trump is tapping to fix the massive money mess in college sports

President Trump on Friday will unveil a new commission to reform the business of college sports — including the controversial “name, image and likeness” framework for student athletes — and will be tapping one of New York’s smartest and toughest executives for the task, On The Money has learned.New York Yankees president Randy Levine will serve as vice chair of Trump’s new Saving College Sports Roundtable, a group of some two dozen executives and athletes from the college and professional levels, to fix the financial side of college sports, including the insane money grab known by its acronym, NIL, people close to the matter say.A longtime college sports fan, Trump sees what has happened to a system where athletes used to spend four years playing for one school, receiving an athletic scholarship for free tuition.The big change occurred in 2021, when the ruling body of college sports, the NCAA, allowed athletes to cash in on their “name, image and likeness” through advertising and various endorsements.At the time, it seemed like the right thing to do.

College sports, particularly football and basketball at big schools, are multibillion-dollar industries.Why shouldn’t student athletes make a few bucks doing a few advertisements, maybe appearing on local TV promoting a car dealership or a small business?Of course, it hasn’t worked out that way.

All hell has broken loose as colleges use NIL to lure the best players.College athletes are being courted with multimillion-dollar deals.

Arch Manning, the highly touted QB from the University of Texas and heir to the Manning football dynasty, has inked an NIL deal worth nearly $7 million.Now, colleges are facing financial consequences.Schools can’t pay the athletes directly.

Instead they must turn to NIL collectives, so-called booster organizations that rely on the same donor base funding other needs such as labs and new dorms.Colleges also are wooing premier athletes to jump ship midway through their...