Gonzaga’s Ryan Nembhard, international players at U.S. schools face NIL hurdles

SALT LAKE CITY – Name, image and likeness (NIL) has been a game-changer in college athletics, especially in the recruiting process.

One of the first questions asked by some highly ranked freshmen and prized transfers centers on potential NIL income.

But not everyone is cashing in at the NIL marketplace. International players face a maze of regulations because they’re typically on student visas with restrictive U.S. visa laws.

That probably explains why standout point guard Ryan Nembhard, who is from Ontario, Canada, was hesitant to discuss NIL in Gonzaga’s locker room at the Delta Center, where the Zags handled McNeese State 86-65 Thursday in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.

“It’s tough, not really,” said Nembhard, when asked if he’s able to earn NIL income. “I’d rather just not talk about it, honestly. You can talk to the coaches about that. They could tell you more about it than me. I don’t really know too much about it.”

U.S. players operate under a different set of rules. Gonzaga’s Anton Watson and Ben Gregg have several NIL deals and frequently appear on television commercials in Spokane and the Inland Northwest.

“The hard part is that isn’t an NCAA deal, that’s a government type of visa that they’re on,” Gonzaga assistant coach Brian Michaelson said. “There’s a lot of things the NCAA has made adjustments with, NIL being a big one, but that’s the one thing that’s out of their pay grade.

“That’s for any international player on a student visa. That’s not a Gonzaga thing. That’s for any school in the country – they’re going to run into the same issues.”

There’s not much wiggle room for internationals to secure NIL agreements that comply with U.S. visa regulations.

“There are some things they can do, usually in the country they’re from, but it’s a lot more difficult and it adds huge levels (of rules) for internationals versus Americans,” Michaelson said. “It can be done, but the level of difficulty can be hard.”

Gonzaga freshman guard Luka Krajnovic, a native of Croatia, has an F1 student visa. He understood NIL rules when he committed to Gonzaga, and he’s optimistic changes will be made in the future.

“I think it’s been a struggle for all the internationals that come to play in the States,” he said. “I think that problem will fix by itself and there’s a lot of people working on it. For now, I’m just focusing on basketball. That stuff doesn’t matter to me.”

Krajnovic made his college choice based on fit and his goal of improving as a player.

“My first consideration was to help the team and develop myself the best I can,” Krajnovic said. “And finding the right spot, the right school where I can develop my skills and become a better player.”

International athletes make up nearly 15% of the rosters on U.S. collegiate athletic teams.

“Hopefully, we’ve been fortunate enough to be able to be pretty selective and avoid some of those people who that (NIL figures) is the first thing out of their mouth,” Michaelson said. “Often that can be a red flag, but it does make recruiting internationals different. They at least have some feel for how difficult it is.

“My experience (with) internationals has been that it’s not the first thing that they’re seeking, because they know it’s going to be a lot more difficult than it is for the Americans. And a lot of Americans are just seeking that.”