International Student Athletes Work to Find Commercial Money

International Student Athletes Work to Find Commercial Money

A growing number of international students are playing high-level sports in college. And since 2021, college athletes have been permitted to make money through product sponsorships and commercials.

Some of the most well-known college athletes are now able to make hundreds of thousands of dollars or more. Such deals are called Name, Image and Likeness², or NIL³ deals.

But the situation is different for student athletes who are not U.S. citizens. That is because they are in the country on a student visa that does not permit them to work.

Some international students become well known in the U.S. because they play on famous sports teams, like the men's basketball team at the University of Kentucky.

A recent study showed that international students make up about 12 percent of the athletes at NCAA Division⁴ I colleges. Division I is the top level of college sports.

Based on 2020 numbers, that means there were 14,000 international students playing Division I sports. Basketball teams are made up of mostly international students at some universities.

The student visa only has rules limiting work in the United States. So, some international student athletes have found ways to make NIL money when they travel out of the county⁵.

Marta Suarez is from Spain and plays basketball for the University of Tennessee. During her team's recent visit to the Bahamas, she took pictures as part of her work with a company called Influxer.

Influxer tries to help student athletes make money from their fame. If a student who works⁶ with Influxer makes an agreement with a company to promote a product, they get paid and Influxer gets paid for setting⁷ up the deal. Influxer paid Suarez and other students for the time they spent taking photos in the Bahamas.

Tyler Jaynes founded Influxer. He noted⁸ that there is no guarantee that the students will make money. But he said he wants to be sure the students have some photos and videos in case an advertiser wants to use them.

He can then provide the photos to a business that might want to use them to sell a product. The students would be paid a fee for giving the company the permission to use their photo.

One of the students who took photos with Influxer recently is Brendan Favre. He plays basketball for DePaul University in Chicago. He is from Switzerland.

He and Jaynes looked through the images on an iPad after the photo shoot. They said the photos looked good because some of them were taken so that a product could be added in later.

"I'm just glad right now we ... get a chance to do something," Favre said. "It's still nice to be able to do something."

Oscar Tshiebwe of the Democratic⁹ Republic of Congo was named the best men's college basketball player last year. He attends the University of Kentucky. The best college basketball players often choose to leave school early and sign with a professional team. Tshiebwe has chosen to stay with Kentucky this year.

One reporter estimated¹⁰ Tshiebwe is likely to earn close to $2 million this year through NIL deals. Tshiebwe was the first player to take photos with Influxer during a University of Kentucky trip to the Bahamas last August.

Other college athletes who were recently in the Bahamas include Jessie Rennie, an Australian who goes to the University of Tennessee and Harrison Hornery, an Australian who goes to the University of Southern California.

Rennie said she is used to doing photos as part of the team in Tennessee. But she said it was nice to do something "that was more about me and who I am, and it's going to be for my benefit."

Hornery said it has been hard to watch his American teammates get money that he cannot receive. "We have people come to practice and pitch us stuff¹¹ all the time, and I'm just like ‘Man, I can't do it,'" he said.

Hornery said he was happy to have the chance to take photos with Influxer, and "whatever happens, happens."

Blake Lawrence knows a lot about the deals college athletes are getting. His company, Opendorse, helps American athletes make money. It is not clear how much money the international athletes are missing¹² out on. But he knows they are missing out on something. He said college sports leaders are trying to find a way for international student athletes to be able to earn more money.

"It will be solved," he said. "They just might have to take a flight."

For Influxer, there is no way of knowing if their investment¹³ in the athletes will pay off. But the company is planning some similar photo events next year.

Steve McLean works to develop business for Influxer. "There's going to be a lot of trial and error," he said. "And we're open to all of it."

Words in This Story

athlete–n. a person who is trained in or good at sports, games, or exercises that require physical skill and strength

sponsorship–n. an arrangement in which a sponsor¹ agrees to give money to someone or something

commercial–n. an advertisement

promote–v. to say something good about an item or someone

pitch–v. to tell someone about an idea, usually for business

benefit –n. something that has a good or helpful result

trial and error –v. a test or a guess that is part of the process in discovering something new

1 sponsor   

vt.发起，主办；资助；n.发起者，资助人

参考例句：

• Sponsor stated they have no idea where he is.赞助方表示他们不知道他在哪儿。
• The sponsor has permanent ad on the website commonly.赞助商一般在网站上有永久性广告。

2 likeness   

n.相像，相似（之处）

参考例句：

• I think the painter has produced a very true likeness.我认为这位画家画得非常逼真。
• She treasured the painted likeness of her son.她珍藏她儿子的画像。

3 nil   

n.无，全无，零

参考例句：

• My knowledge of the subject is practically nil.我在这方面的知识几乎等于零。
• Their legal rights are virtually nil.他们实际上毫无法律权利。

4 division   

n.区分，分开，除法，公司，部门，师(军队里)

参考例句：

• Have you learnt division?你学会除法了吗？
• The division commander ordered that we start the attack before dawn.师长令我们在拂晓前发起攻击。

5 county   

n.县，郡

参考例句：

• When the good news reached there,the whole county rejoiced.喜讯传到那里时，全县的人都欢欣鼓舞起来。
• In that year county after county fell to the enemy.那一年一个又一个的县城沦入敌人手中。

6 works   

n.作品，著作；工厂，活动部件，机件

参考例句：

• We expect writers to produce more and better works.我们期望作家们写出更多更好的作品。
• The novel is regarded as one of the classic works.这篇小说被公认为是最优秀的作品之一。

7 setting   

n.背景

参考例句：

• The play has its setting in Vienna.该剧以维也纳为背景。
• Where and when a story takes place is called the setting.故事发生的地点和时间称为故事背景。

8 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

9 democratic   

adj.民主的；民主主义的，有民主精神的

参考例句：

• Their country has democratic government.他们国家实行民主政体。
• He has a democratic work-style.他作风民主。

10 estimated   

adj．根据估计的

参考例句：

• She estimated the breadth of the lake to be 500 metres. 她估计湖面大约有500米宽。
• The man estimated for the repair of the car. 那人估算了修理汽车的费用。

11 stuff   

n.原料，材料，东西；vt.填满；吃饱

参考例句：

• We could supply you with the stuff in the raw tomorrow.明天我们可以供应你原材料。
• He is not the stuff.他不是这个材料。

12 missing   

adj.遗失的，缺少的，失踪的

参考例句：

• Check the tools and see if anything is missing.检点一下工具，看有无丢失。
• All the others are here;he's the only one missing.别人都来了，就短他一个。

13 investment   

n.投资，投资额；(时间、精力等的)投入

参考例句：

• It took two years before I recouped my investment.我用了两年时间才收回投资。
• The success of the project pivots on investment from abroad.这个工程的成功主要依靠外来投资。