A Different Set of Rules: NIL Challenges for International Student-Athletes

Since the NCAA adopted its interim NIL policy in July 2021, student-athletes have increasingly monetized their personal brands through activities such as endorsements, sponsorships, social-media promotions, and public appearances. In the wake of the House settlement, recent NIL, revenue-sharing, and athlete-compensation developments have only accelerated that transformation.

Yet for many international student-athletes, the NIL marketplace operates under a different set of rules, rendering it largely unavailable. Many of the approximately 25,000¹ international collegiate student-athletes in the US are in F-1 non-immigrant status, a classification with strict limitations on . As a result, the NIL opportunities routinely available to a US citizen teammate raise significant immigration questions for an international athlete in F-1 status.²