On and off the court, Jaz Shelley is a star for the University of Nebraska-Lincoln (UNL) basketball team. Jaz earned firstteam All-Big Ten honors for her electric play. She earned Academic All-Big Ten honors for her work in the classroom. She’s beloved with fans and teammates alike. Like many players, she receives requests from businesses and nonprofits to lend her name, image, and likeness (NIL) in support of a local business or work a summer camp for kids. But unlike most of her teammates, Jaz is prohibited from saying yes to these opportunities.The reason? She’s from Australia.This week, I introduced legislation to give international student-athletes like Jaz access to the same NIL opportunities her teammates have.
In 2021, the Supreme Court of the United States struck down the NCAA’s restrictions on expanded benefits for collegiate student-athletes.The NCAA then adopted an interim policy allowing these athletes to earn money based upon their name, image, and likeness. Since then, student-athletes have been able to profit from sales of their jersey or uniform, host summer sports camps for kids, attend community events, sign autographs, and more.The 3,000 international student-athletes that make up about 12% of Division I athletes. They have been largely prohibited from realizing those gains due to their student visa status.
Currently, the F-1 visa, the most common student visa for athletes, has conditions and restrictions on employment that don’t accommodate NIL agreements. International students can’t benefit monetarily from NIL due to our outdated student visa laws.The consequences of participating in unauthorized employment can be grave. The government can terminate the holder’s visa status and withhold benefits in the future, like green cards. It’s pushing talented student athletes like Jaz to either jump through insane hurdles or consider leaving schools like UNL all together.
