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Player of the Year Edey Blasts U.S. NIL Law for Restricting International Athletes

Canadian Zach Edey is "missing out on a lot of money" due to NIL laws

Michael Ehrlich

Purdue center Zach Edey dunks against Tennessee during the first half of the NCAA tournament Midwest
Purdue center Zach Edey dunks against Tennessee during the first half of the NCAA tournament Midwest / Junfu Han/USA TODAY NETWORK / USA TODAY

Ahead of Purdue's first Final Four since 1980, two-time National Player of the Year Zach Edey spoke to the media and had harsh words for the current NIL landscape, especially as it affects international athletes like himself.

The Canadian center - on a student visa at Purdue - is unable to able to engage in U.S-based NIL opportunities, but can earn compensation for deals coordinated and executed outside of the country. As one of the top names and frames - at 7'4" and 300 pounds - in college sports, he has certainly missed out on his fare share of earnings.

"I feel like I'm missing out on a lot of money," he told media on Friday from his Final Four press conference. "I hope they change it in the future. I obviously have lost out on a lot of money this year. At the end of the day, it needs to change, for sure. I understand kind of the legal process. It takes a while."

As it is passive income - and thus allowed for an international athlete - he is able to earn compensation for merchandise and jersey deals, like he has with Campus Ink's NIL store, he just can't promote the products. Edey has been the top-seller there across the robust NIL Store network for the past few months.

When Purdue traveled to Edey's hometown of Toronto earlier this season to face Alabama, he was able to engage further in NIL and actually promote brands, such as Daps - a "Shopify for athletes" - that launched limited edition Edey autographed cards and a one of one signed canvas.

But during the majority of the season, Edey must abstain from traditional NIL opportunities that his American teammates can freely take part in.

"It's not like it's an NCAA rule," he added, "It's an American law. Anytime you try to go change that, I understand it takes a while. But I do think it needs to change."

With potential NBA earnings and marketing deals on the horizon after the season, Edey and Purdue face North Carolina State on Saturday in the first Final Four matchup. If they advance, Boilermakers face the winner of defending champion UConn and Alabama.

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Michael Ehrlich
MICHAEL EHRLICH

Michael Ehrlich is a seasoned sports marketing executive with experience across the global sports brand, athlete representation, media and education sides of the business. The Founder and CEO of Playbook Marketing, Ehrlich consults with brands on all things NIL and athlete partnerships, advises student-athletes on their personal brand building endeavors and is an adjunct professor at his alma mater, the University of Southern California where he teaches a course on athlete communications and marketing. As a writer, his previous bylines include Boardroom, Business of College Sports, DIME Magazine and UPROXX, among others. You can follow him across social media at @MichaelEhrlich and reach out via michael@playbook-marketing.com

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