International Student Athletes Work to Find Commercial Money
2023-01-01
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1A growing number of international students are playing high-level sports in college.
2And since 2021, college athletes have been permitted to make money through product sponsorships and commercials.
3Some of the most well-known college athletes are now able to make hundreds of thousands of dollars or more.
4Such deals are called Name, Image and Likeness, or NIL deals.
5But the situation is different for student athletes who are not U.S. citizens.
6That is because they are in the country on a student visa that does not permit them to work.
7Some 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.
8A recent study showed that international students make up about 12 percent of the athletes at NCAA Division I colleges.
9Division I is the top level of college sports.
10Based on 2020 numbers, that means there were 14,000 international students playing Division I sports.
11Basketball teams are made up of mostly international students at some universities.
12The student visa only has rules limiting work in the United States.
13So, some international student athletes have found ways to make NIL money when they travel out of the county.
14Marta Suarez is from Spain and plays basketball for the University of Tennessee.
15During her team's recent visit to the Bahamas, she took pictures as part of her work with a company called Influxer.
16Influxer tries to help student athletes make money from their fame.
17If a student who works with Influxer makes an agreement with a company to promote a product, they get paid and Influxer gets paid for setting up the deal.
18Influxer paid Suarez and other students for the time they spent taking photos in the Bahamas.
19Tyler Jaynes founded Influxer.
20He noted that there is no guarantee that the students will make money.
21But he said he wants to be sure the students have some photos and videos in case an advertiser wants to use them.
22He can then provide the photos to a business that might want to use them to sell a product.
23The students would be paid a fee for giving the company the permission to use their photo.
24One of the students who took photos with Influxer recently is Brendan Favre.
25He plays basketball for DePaul University in Chicago. He is from Switzerland.
26He and Jaynes looked through the images on an iPad after the photo shoot.
27They said the photos looked good because some of them were taken so that a product could be added in later.
28"I'm just glad right now we ... get a chance to do something," Favre said.
29"It's still nice to be able to do something."
30Oscar Tshiebwe of the Democratic Republic of Congo was named the best men's college basketball player last year. He attends the University of Kentucky.
31The best college basketball players often choose to leave school early and sign with a professional team.
32Tshiebwe has chosen to stay with Kentucky this year.
33One reporter estimated Tshiebwe is likely to earn close to $2 million this year through NIL deals.
34Tshiebwe was the first player to take photos with Influxer during a University of Kentucky trip to the Bahamas last August.
35Other 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.
36Rennie said she is used to doing photos as part of the team in Tennessee.
37But 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."
38Hornery said it has been hard to watch his American teammates get money that he cannot receive.
39"We have people come to practice and pitch us stuff all the time, and I'm just like 'Man, I can't do it,'" he said.
40Hornery said he was happy to have the chance to take photos with Influxer, and "whatever happens, happens."
41Blake Lawrence knows a lot about the deals college athletes are getting.
42His company, Opendorse, helps American athletes make money.
43It is not clear how much money the international athletes are missing out on.
44But he knows they are missing out on something.
45He said college sports leaders are trying to find a way for international student athletes to be able to earn more money.
46"It will be solved," he said.
47"They just might have to take a flight."
48For Influxer, there is no way of knowing if their investment in the athletes will pay off.
49But the company is planning some similar photo events next year.
50Steve McLean works to develop business for Influxer.
51"There's going to be a lot of trial and error," he said.
52"And we're open to all of it."
53I'm Dan Friedell. And I'm Jill Robbins.
1A 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. 2Some 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 Likeness, or NIL deals. 3But 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. 4Some 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. 5A recent study showed that international students make up about 12 percent of the athletes at NCAA Division I colleges. Division I is the top level of college sports. 6Based 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. 7The 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 county. 8Marta 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. 9Influxer tries to help student athletes make money from their fame. If a student who works with Influxer makes an agreement with a company to promote a product, they get paid and Influxer gets paid for setting up the deal. Influxer paid Suarez and other students for the time they spent taking photos in the Bahamas. 10Tyler Jaynes founded Influxer. He noted 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. 11He 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. 12One of the students who took photos with Influxer recently is Brendan Favre. He plays basketball for DePaul University in Chicago. He is from Switzerland. 13He 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. 14"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." 15Oscar Tshiebwe of the Democratic 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. 16One reporter estimated 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. 17Other 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. 18Rennie 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." 19Hornery 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 stuff all the time, and I'm just like 'Man, I can't do it,'" he said. 20Hornery said he was happy to have the chance to take photos with Influxer, and "whatever happens, happens." 21Blake 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 missing 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. 22"It will be solved," he said. "They just might have to take a flight." 23For Influxer, there is no way of knowing if their investment in the athletes will pay off. But the company is planning some similar photo events next year. 24Steve 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." 25I'm Dan Friedell. And I'm Jill Robbins. 26Dan Friedell adapted this story for VOA Learning English based on a report by the Associated Press. 27_______________________________________________________________ 28Words in This Story 29athlete-n. a person who is trained in or good at sports, games, or exercises that require physical skill and strength 30sponsorship-n. an arrangement in which a sponsor agrees to give money to someone or something 31commercial-n. an advertisement 32promote-v. to say something good about an item or someone 33pitch-v. to tell someone about an idea, usually for business 34benefit -n. something that has a good or helpful result 35trial and error -v. a test or a guess that is part of the process in discovering something new 36_______________________________________________________________ 37We want to hear from you. Do you think international college athletes will start making money sometime soon? 38We have a new comment system. 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