Notre Dame football commit is living proof of the oddities of NIL rules

Love or hate the NCAA’s rules for NIL, no one can argue that it hasn’t substantially changed the game for programs like Notre Dame football. That’s why it’s so frustrating to see that there are still rules that hamstring programs like the Fighting Irish in subtle and not-so-subtle ways.

When it comes to a talented commit like Will Black, he doesn’t get to take advantage of NIL the way his future teammates can. That’s because despite being considered one of the best players in his class, he cannot receive NIL money inside the United States.

Because Black is from Canada, he falls into that weird limbo that encompasses any player from outside the United States. If he were to take money inside the US, he would run the risk of losing his scholarship to Notre Dame football. 

Notre Dame football commit illustrates why NIL rules need to be fixed

“International student-athletes are now just being treated as second-class sort of citizens,” sports immigration lawyer Ksenia Maiorova previously told On3. “They’re just simply unable, legally, to take advantage of NIL on par with their U.S. counterparts.”

All of these rules for international athletes has to do with the kind of visa they receive when they come to the US. There is a kind of visa that would allow Will Black to be both a student and earn the kind of money that comes from NIL. He’d need to get a O-1 visa. 

Since the NIL era began in college football, only one player has actually qualified for the visa which requires those who apply to demonstrate they have an “extraordinary ability.”

Being able to plow through opposing defensive linemen doesn’t appear to qualify on its own. Though there are rumblings that the US could eventually loosen the rules regarding the O-1 visa.

There is a chance that in the future Notre Dame football commits like Will Black could get that visa and eventually begin to earn NIL money the way his teammates do. For now though, it seems like a pipe dream. Black seems to know this. “I don’t really talk about it too much because it is how it is.”