College Athletes Make Money with Name, Image, Likeness Deals
2022-03-27
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1The month of March is important for college basketball players in the United States.
2On televisions around the country, sports fans watch the big college basketball tournament for men and women.
3It is an opportunity for young athletes to get attention and become famous.
4The tournament games are known as "March Madness."
5In the 1970s and 1980s, basketball players like Magic Johnson and Michael Jordan first became famous in March.
6However, they were not permitted to make money from their fame until becoming professionals and joining the National Basketball Association.
7After they became professionals, they could get paid by their teams and do advertisements for companies like Nike.
8Now however, thanks to a decision by the U.S. Supreme Court last June, American college athletes are now permitted to make money from their fame.
9The athletes can make money by permitting businesses to use their name, image and likeness to sell a product.
10The agreements are called "NIL" deals.
11As a result, some university athletes are becoming wealthy at age 20.
12Others may not become wealthy, but they want money "to fall back on."
13That means they will have some saved money even if they do not have a long sports career.
14That is the viewpoint of Deja Kelly, a basketball player at the University of North Carolina - Chapel Hill.
15The NIL deals are important for female athletes who will not have as many opportunities to make money as male athletes after college.
16"We can't play forever. The ball stops bouncing at some point," Kelly said.
17She has six NIL deals, including one with a large coffee company and another with a large restaurant group.
18Many of the deals require the students to place messages on social media apps such as Instagram and TikTok to reach fans.
19In others, the students' faces appear in advertisements for businesses in return for money.
20Some businesses give students money so they can make clothing items with their names or faces.
21"It'll set me up for life," Kelly said, meaning she hopes to not have financial worries in the future.
22Most of the time it is easier for male athletes to make money with NIL deals, because their sports are seen by more people.
23However, some female athletes are doing well because they are very attractive.
24Livvy Dunne is one of them.
25She is a 19-year-old gymnast at Louisiana State University.
26She has about 6 million followers combined on Instagram and TikTok.
27In a written response to questions sent by The Associated Press, Dunne said she has about 10 NIL deals.
28One sports media company, Barstool Sports, is making money by paying mostly female athletes to appear in photos and videos on its Instagram page.
29Another company, Beautiful Ballers, has photos of female athletes wearing very small swimsuits.
30Masai Russell is a track and field athlete for the University of Kentucky.
31She has about 20 NIL deals with companies that include media company Hulu and Walgreens, a store that has about 9,000 locations around the U.S.
32She gets paid to make advertisements on Instagram that show items like clothing and vitamins.
33Russell said she earns more than $100,000 per year from her NIL deals, but she is trying to be careful with the money.
34"I'm trying to play it out very smart...so that I'm pretty well-off in my later years."
35Gloria Nevarez is the top athletics official for a group of colleges in the western U.S.
36She said she hopes the young women succeed for more reasons than just "attractiveness."
37While some are doing well, not all college athletes are making lots of money.
38One of them is Bailey Moody.
39She is a wheelchair basketball player at the University of Alabama and a member of the U.S.A. Paralympic team.
40She said making money from NIL deals is a lot of work.
41She congratulates those who do on their success.
42Blake Lawrence works for a company called Opendorse, which helps college athletes find NIL deals.
43He said most are not making that much money: a good deal might bring in about $250 per month.
44There is one group of college athletes, however, who are not permitted to make money from NIL deals:
45international students who come to college in the U.S. on F-1 student visas.
46Leigh Cole is an immigration lawyer in Vermont.
47She said breaking that rule would have serious "consequences."
48Dorka Juhasz is a basketball player at the University of Connecticut.
49The team is often one of the best in the country.
50Juhasz is from Hungary, so she is not permitted to make money in the U.S.
51She said other basketball players who stayed in Europe are making money.
52Juhasz called it "disappointing" that she was not able to make money in the U.S.
53Peter Schoenthal's company Athliance helps college athletes understand NIL rules.
54He said the system is confusing, and it is safer for international students to avoid it in order to prevent a violation.
55The future of NIL deals is not yet decided.
56Many states now have laws that permit students to make money while playing college sports.
57But there may still be a discussion in the U.S. Congress about a national law related to the issue.
58I'm Faith Pirlo. And I'm Dan Friedell.
1The month of March is important for college basketball players in the United States. On televisions around the country, sports fans watch the big college basketball tournament for men and women. 2It is an opportunity for young athletes to get attention and become famous. 3The tournament games are known as "March Madness." 4In the 1970s and 1980s, basketball players like Magic Johnson and Michael Jordan first became famous in March. 5However, they were not permitted to make money from their fame until becoming professionals and joining the National Basketball Association. After they became professionals, they could get paid by their teams and do advertisements for companies like Nike. 6Now however, thanks to a decision by the U.S. Supreme Court last June, American college athletes are now permitted to make money from their fame. 7Cashing in 8The athletes can make money by permitting businesses to use their name, image and likeness to sell a product. The agreements are called "NIL" deals. 9As a result, some university athletes are becoming wealthy at age 20. 10Others may not become wealthy, but they want money "to fall back on." That means they will have some saved money even if they do not have a long sports career. That is the viewpoint of Deja Kelly, a basketball player at the University of North Carolina - Chapel Hill. 11The NIL deals are important for female athletes who will not have as many opportunities to make money as male athletes after college. 12"We can't play forever. The ball stops bouncing at some point," Kelly said. 13She has six NIL deals, including one with a large coffee company and another with a large restaurant group. 14How they make money 15Many of the deals require the students to place messages on social media apps such as Instagram and TikTok to reach fans. In others, the students' faces appear in advertisements for businesses in return for money. Some businesses give students money so they can make clothing items with their names or faces. 16"It'll set me up for life," Kelly said, meaning she hopes to not have financial worries in the future. 17Most of the time it is easier for male athletes to make money with NIL deals, because their sports are seen by more people. However, some female athletes are doing well because they are very attractive. 18Livvy Dunne is one of them. She is a 19-year-old gymnast at Louisiana State University. She has about 6 million followers combined on Instagram and TikTok. In a written response to questions sent by The Associated Press, Dunne said she has about 10 NIL deals. 19One sports media company, Barstool Sports, is making money by paying mostly female athletes to appear in photos and videos on its Instagram page. Another company, Beautiful Ballers, has photos of female athletes wearing very small swimsuits. 20Masai Russell is a track and field athlete for the University of Kentucky. She has about 20 NIL deals with companies that include media company Hulu and Walgreens, a store that has about 9,000 locations around the U.S. She gets paid to make advertisements on Instagram that show items like clothing and vitamins. 21Russell said she earns more than $100,000 per year from her NIL deals, but she is trying to be careful with the money. 22"I'm trying to play it out very smart...so that I'm pretty well-off in my later years." 23Gloria Nevarez is the top athletics official for a group of colleges in the western U.S. She said she hopes the young women succeed for more reasons than just "attractiveness." 24Not easy money for all 25While some are doing well, not all college athletes are making lots of money. 26One of them is Bailey Moody. She is a wheelchair basketball player at the University of Alabama and a member of the U.S.A. Paralympic team. She said making money from NIL deals is a lot of work. She congratulates those who do on their success. 27Blake Lawrence works for a company called Opendorse, which helps college athletes find NIL deals. He said most are not making that much money: a good deal might bring in about $250 per month. 28International students miss out 29There is one group of college athletes, however, who are not permitted to make money from NIL deals: international students who come to college in the U.S. on F-1 student visas. 30Leigh Cole is an immigration lawyer in Vermont. She said breaking that rule would have serious "consequences." 31Dorka Juhasz is a basketball player at the University of Connecticut. The team is often one of the best in the country. Juhasz is from Hungary, so she is not permitted to make money in the U.S. She said other basketball players who stayed in Europe are making money. Juhasz called it "disappointing" that she was not able to make money in the U.S. 32Peter Schoenthal's company Athliance helps college athletes understand NIL rules. He said the system is confusing, and it is safer for international students to avoid it in order to prevent a violation. 33The future of NIL deals is not yet decided. Many states now have laws that permit students to make money while playing college sports. But there may still be a discussion in the U.S. Congress about a national law related to the issue. 34I'm Faith Pirlo. And I'm Dan Friedell. 35Dan Friedell adapted this story for VOA Learning English based on reports by The Associated Press. 36What would you do to help college athletes make more money? Let us know. Write to us in the Comments Section and visit our Facebook page. 37Words in This Story 38tournament -n. a sports competition or a series of contests that continues for weeks or several days leading to one winner 39athlete -n. a person who is trained or good in sports 40likeness - n. a picture of a person 41bounce -v. to cause a ball to hit against a surface and quickly move in the other direction 42attractive - adj. having a pleasing appearance 43app - n. a computer program that performs a special function, often used on mobile phones 44gymnast - n. a person who performs various physical exercises on a mat or special equipment as part of an athletics competition 45vitamin -n. a substance found in foods or pills that can be taken to help your body be healthy 46consequence -n. something that happens as a result of another action 47confusing -adj. something that is hard to understand