What Universities Should Know about NIL and International Student Athletes
September 25, 2026The Background
The NCAA and its evolving Name, Image, and Likeness (“NIL”) landscape has opened new opportunities and provided financial benefits for collegiate athletes. However, international NCAA student-athletes on F-1 visas are a different story, facing many challenging legal constraints resulting from new NIL opportunities.
As of July 1, 2025, the House v. NCAA settlement has allowed schools to share athletic department revenues with their varsity athletes under the NCAA revenue sharing model. The NCAA revenue sharing model enables schools to make payments directly to athletes up to $20.5 million per year, with an annual cap set to increase to around $32 million over the next ten years. It also removes scholarship restrictions and instead applies roster limits to all Division I sports.
NIL policies permit student-athletes who are work authorized to benefit financially and earn income from business ventures and their own personal brand while still in school. Examples of NIL activities include social posts or content for a brand, autograph signings, camps or clinics, appearances in commercials or promotional events, and endorsement or sponsorship agreements. While student-athletes in the United States can build their personal brands and profit from their NIL, international student-athletes continue to navigate a complex and evolving legal landscape due to restrictions placed on F-1 student visas.
International Students as Student Athletes
International students play a critical role at universities as student athletes. As of 2024, there are more than 25,000 international students studying and competing at NCAA schools. To be able to compete, the F-1 Visa (Academic Student) allows the international student-athlete to enter the United States as a full-time student at an accredited college or university. However, international student-athletes on F-1 visas face strict limits on earning income, as the term “employment” is broadly defined under federal law.
Under 8 C.F.R. § 274a.1(h), employment means any service or labor performed by an employee for an employer within the United States. Employment under an F-1 visa becomes more challenging in the context of international student-athletes profiting from NIL opportunities, as there is no explicit limit as to what constitutes employment in this setting.
F-1 students can obtain on-campus employment that must either be performed on the school’s premises or at an off-campus location that is educationally affiliated with the school. F-1 students may work off-campus after having been in F-1 status for one full academic year, but this is limited to Curricular Practical Training (CPT), Optional Practical Training (OPT), Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM), or severe economic hardship work authorization. None of these options explicitly pertain to F-1 international student-athletes.
NIL Remains a Gray Area for International Student Athletes
Because NIL-related financial benefits are not explicitly addressed within the definition of “employment” under immigration law, the distinction between permissible NIL activity and unauthorized work remains unclear for international F-1 student-athletes, creating significant uncertainty and risk of noncompliance.
Noncompliance with F-1 visa conditions carries serious consequences. In general, acceptance of unauthorized employment in violation of F-1 visa status renders individuals deportable under 8 U.S.C. § 1227. Accordingly, an international student-athlete who engages in unauthorized NIL employment risks violating their F-1 visa status and facing removal from the United States.
P-1A Visas May Be a Backup Option
A P-1A visa applies to those coming temporarily to the United States solely for the purpose of performing at a specific athletic competition as an individual athlete at an internationally recognized level of performance, part of a group or team at an internationally recognized level of performance, a professional athlete, or an athlete or coach who is part of a team or franchise located in the United States and a member of a foreign league or association.
In the case of Poa v. Jaddou, a federal judge denied the United States government’s argument to block international student-athletes from obtaining a P-1A visa. Australian women’s basketball player Last-Tear Poa, competing at Louisiana State University, filed a NIL lawsuit after she was denied a P-1A visa. Her success in surpassing a motion to dismiss may be instrumental in shaping the future of international student-athlete compensation. As of the writing of this post, the case remains pending.
If approved, the P-1A visa would allow international student-athletes to receive compensation in the same manner as professional athletes classified under this visa category.
What Universities Should Know
Universities should recognize that NCAA compliance and U.S. immigration compliance are separate considerations when working with international student-athletes. An NIL arrangement or revenue-sharing payment that is permissible under NCAA rules may still raise immigration concerns for an athlete in F-1 status — particularly when compensation is tied to services such as promotional appearances, social-media content, autograph signings, camps, endorsements, or other commercial activities.
Using an athlete’s NIL on merchandise appears to be permissible, but USCIS has not spoken directly to this issue, so it remains a gray area. Before facilitating any compensation, universities should identify an athlete’s immigration status and consider whether the proposed arrangement is authorized under that status.
Universities should coordinate among athletic departments, compliance offices, NIL personnel, international student offices, and immigration counsel. Establishing procedures to identify potential immigration issues before an agreement is signed or compensation is provided can help reduce uncertainty and protect both the institution and its international student-athletes.