Let international players join NIL lineup

UConn’s sidelined superstar guard Paige Bueckers has been a poster child of the possibilities of NIL, with a stream of sponsorships from the likes of Gatorade, Nerf and Crocs.

University of Connecticut men’s basketball coach Dan Hurley offers an insightful analysis of how government plays its games.

“Homeland Security and government … doesn’t tend to move super quickly.”

Hurley was referring to the likelihood of a game-changer that would let international studentathletes profit from sponsorship deals.

The coach can’t really do anything to change that, but there are a couple of powerful players on the home bench who might: U.S. Senators Richard Blumenthal and Chris Murphy.

UConn is at the epicenter of the issue not only because it is the basketball capital of America (11 national titles for the women’s team and four for the men over the past three decades). Anyone watching either NCAA tournament in recent days has undoubtedly noticed some of the stars of both teams hail from across U.S. borders.

Adama Sanogo of Mali has grabbed much of the spotlight for the UConn men. Meanwhile, the women’s lineup boasts no less then six players in a United Nations lineup: Nika Mühl of Coatia, Lou Lopez Sénéchal of France and Mexico, Canada’s Aaliyah Edwards, Dorka Juhász of Hungary, Inês Bettencourt of Portugal and Jana El Alfy of Egypt.

While their American teammates have been able to profit under the NIL (“name, image, likeness”) Era that began in the summer of 2021, the international players are restricted under laws regarding their student visas.

UConn’s sidelined superstar guard Paige Bueckers has been a poster child of the possibilities of NIL, with a stream of sponsorships from the likes of Gatorade, Nerf and Crocs. Even without playing, she’s surely pulling in more coin than if she just turned pro.

Blumenthal is trying to level the lopsided playing field by reaching out to Homeland Security Secretary

Alejandro Mayorkas in a letter and a subsequent hearing.

Murphy supports Blumenthal’s strategy, with the extra suggestion that college athletes be given the classification of employees, which would translate to bargaining powers. Last year, he introduced the College Athlete Right to Organize Act with U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt.

That idea has been dribbling around for years, with fanatical support from unions. Since the advent of the NIL change, it’s turned into a full-court press. The NCAA has a strong defense in the argument that these athletes must remain students first. Imagine the first time a college takes action to fire a struggling employee for their performance on the field or court. Or debating if an employee bargaining a salary should be able to keep a scholarship.

Any such change certainly won’t happen anytime soon, but helping international athletes achieve the American Dream should not be delayed. The players and their schools have been able to mine loopholes, such as holding events out of the United States.

But there’s really no reason to block these athletes from profiting on their own names. Edwards is the only international player in AP All American Teams lineup, yet she alone can’t leverage that for income. Only a fraction of college athletes will move onto professional careers in their given sports, so their playing days offer a slim window of earning power.

It’s a complex issue, but the game plan should be simple. Homeland Security needs to listen to Hurley and start hustling.