Governor Stitt Signs Executive Order Supporting Oklahoma Student Athletes

Today, Governor Kevin Stitt signed Executive Order 2025-01, an action designed to ensure that Oklahoma's postsecondary institutions and their student-athletes remain competitive in the evolving landscape of intercollegiate athletics. This order enables institutions to facilitate direct payments to student-athletes for the use of their name, image, and likeness (NIL) while federal and legal decisions surrounding NIL payments remain pending. The order accomplishes this while preventing taxpayer dollars from being used on NIL deals.

"Oklahoma is home to some of the nation's most outstanding student-athletes," said Governor Stitt. "This executive order ensures that these student-athletes have access to the same opportunities as their peers in other states. It's about leveling the playing field and maintaining the competitive edge that defines Oklahoma athletics. This action is a critical step to protect Oklahoma's student-athletes and ensures they have the opportunity to succeed on and off the field."

The order allows for the creation of foundations that will act as a clearing house for entities to contribute to NIL funds without fear of retaliation or investigation from athletic organizations such as the NCAA or athletic conferences. The order also ensures that Oklahoma taxpayer dollars will not be used for these payments.

This proactive measure addresses the inconsistent national rules governing NIL payments, which have created uncertainty and disparity among states and athletic conferences. Oklahoma institutions, which belong to different conferences with varying regulations, faced potential disadvantages that this order seeks to mitigate.

Key provisions of the executive order include:

• Authorization for Oklahoma postsecondary institutions to facilitate NIL payments to student-athletes.
• Protection for institutions and individuals from investigations or adverse actions by athletic organizations for engaging in NIL-related activities.
• Restrictions preventing the use of state-allocated funds for NIL payments.
• Automatic expiration of the order upon final settlement approval in the federal NIL litigation or the enactment of a federal law governing student-athlete payments.

Read the order in full here.