Foreign College Student Athletes Cashing On NIL

For international student athletes living and playing sports for U.S. universities, Name, Image, and Likeness (“NIL”) deals have been significantly restricted due to the employment laws in the United States. The U.S. has strict laws on student employment, and they are even more strict for international students, disallowing them from working unless they follow specific rules and regulations.

When students come to the U.S. to attend a university as a full-time student, they are required to apply for a student visa, which allows them to remain here during that time. The student visa required for a full-time student athlete is an F-1 visa, which comes with a few requirements:

• International student must be enrolled in an “academic” educational program, a language-training program, or a vocational program;
• International student’s school must be approved by the Student and Exchange Visitors Program, Immigration & Customs Enforcement;
• International student must be enrolled as a full-time student at the institution;
• International student must be proficient in English or be enrolled in courses leading to English proficiency;
• International student must have sufficient funds available for self-support during the entire proposed course of study; and
• International student must maintain a residence abroad which you have no intention of giving up.

With the F-1 visa comes certain rules about employment, as well. Under this visa, students are eligible to work during the academic year if it is on campus employment, and they cannot work during their first academic year.

Technically, NIL deals are classified as employment, because the student athletes are being paid for giving companies and other entities the right to use the student’s name, image, and likeness.  Further, universities are not able to be involved with the NIL deals, and student athletes are not allowed to do deals with their schools. They are also not able to utilize school facilities in fulfilling the terms of any NIL contracts.

Because off-campus employment is barred to international student athletes, many of them are unable to partake in NIL deals as well. Some, like Lou Hedley, a University of Miami punter from Australia, are forced to fly home to cash in on their names. Hedley has had to fly from Miami to Perth, a 37-hour trek, in order to film promotional spots for companies like LifeWallet while overseas.

Another international player, Akheem Mesidor, an offensive lineman from Ontario, who also plays for the Miami Hurricanes, is also having to jump through hoops to capitalize on his name, image, and likeness.

Employment and immigration laws have made it increasingly difficult for international student-athletes to capitalize on their name image and likeness, like their American teammates are able to do without much additional work. The requirement to be on the soil of the country they moved from, is an additional burden, on top of acquiring deals and keeping up with contractual obligations. It is especially difficult for these student athletes to maintain compliance because compliance, if they want to take part in NIL deals, requires them to be on their home soil, so oftentimes extensive travel is necessary.

While NIL deals are offering college student athletes the opportunity to capitalize on their name image and likeness, US immigration and employment laws are proving difficult to adhere to.