LEVELING THE PLAYING FIELD: NAVIGATING THE ‘NAME, IMAGE, AND LIKENESS’ RULES FOR INTERNATIONAL STUDENT-ATHLETES IN THE UNITED STATES.

This Note analyzes the NCAA’s new ‘Name, Image, and Likeness’ (“NIL”) guidelines and their impact on international student-athletes. The NCAA’s NIL guidelines allow student-athletes to profit off of their own name, image, and likeness, a benefit that would have made them ineligible to maintain their amateur status and compete in the NCAA two short years ago.1 While the NCAA’s NIL guidelines can generate substantial compensation for some of the NCAA’s most prolific student-athletes, international student-athletes are limited in the NIL opportunities they can enjoy based on various immigration restrictions.2 If an international studentathlete is found to be in violation of their employment restrictions, their student visa status will be terminated and they will be required to leave the United States immediately.3 This Note explores and recommends possible solutions to level the playing field among NCAA student-athletes, including expanding 8 C.F.R § 274a.12(b)(6) and defining NIL generated income as passive income for the purposes of 26 U.S.C. § 469(c)(1). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]