What the new Donald Trump executive order means for college athlete transfers
Adam Schefter source says Bears' Hammond move is essentially a done deal
President Donald Trump signed an executive order Friday that directly targets the structure of college athletics, placing limits on how long athletes can play and how many times they can change schools.
The order caps eligibility at five years and restricts undergraduate transfers to one without penalty; a second transfer now triggers a mandatory redshirt season.
The changes are set to take effect Aug 1, with schools that fail to comply risking federal funding. The signing comes months after the NCAA spent $16 million fighting eligibility lawsuits and follows a March White House roundtable where Trump vowed action, as first reported by ESPN’s Dan Murphy.
Per On3, athletes would receive one free transfer as an undergraduate and another as a graduate student, a two-window structure tucked inside the broader restrictions.
President Donald Trump signed an executive order Friday designed to limit how long athletes can play college sports and how often they can transfer between schools.
More via ESPN’s Dan Murphy:https://t.co/DUaa0Cw6eR
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) April 3, 2026
Roughly 25% of all FBS players entered the transfer portal during the 2026 cycle. Currently, players can switch schools as many times as they want, as long as academic eligibility holds.
That movement is uneven across conferences, only 29.5% of Group of Six all-conference honorees stayed with their 2025 teams. The SEC and Big Ten retained 97.4% of eligible returners.
Trump first floated executive action after meeting with former Alabama coach Nick Saban in May 2025.
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