\n\tThe NCAA\u2019s reported decision to allow former G League Ignite player Thierry Darlan to play Division I basketball at Santa Clara signals a less rigid eligibility model going forward and one less likely to exclude athletes because they already played professionally.<\/p>\n
\n\tThe decision could have implications that go way beyond ex-G Leaguers and into other groups of former pro athletes\u2014including former players in the NBA, NHL and MLB. These players bypassed college as 18- and 19-year-olds but who in their 20s or 30s eye NIL<\/a> and revenue share opportunities in college sports.<\/p>\n \n\tESPN says the 6-foot-8, 21-year-old guard\u00a0will be eligible\u00a0to play two D-I seasons, with his two seasons in the G League apparently counting against his four years of NCAA eligibility. Darlan, who is from the Central African Republic,\u00a0played in 58 G League games\u00a0from 2023 to 2025, averaging 7.9 points, 5.2 rebounds and 1.4 assists per game.<\/p>\n \n\tThe NCAA declined to comment on Darlan\u2019s eligibility. The association generally does not comment on specific eligibility cases.\u00a0<\/p>\n \n\tFor a long time, the NCAA strictly denied the eligibility of athletes who previously earned compensation in their sport. That was a core principle of amateurism: Athletes are full-time, degree-seeking students who play a sport in which they are not a former professional.<\/p>\n \n\tAmateurism was in full force 15 years ago when the\u00a0NCAA denied Enes Kanter Freedom<\/a>\u00a0the chance to play for Kentucky. As a teenager, Kanter Freedom, a Turkish national, played in the Euroleague, but he declined a salary in hopes that would make him eligible to play in college.\u00a0<\/p>\n \n\tHowever, the NCAA determined Kanter received more than $30,000 from a professional team that exceeded expenses the NCAA classified as \u201cactual and necessary,\u201d and he was therefore ineligible. NCAA rules allow for players who competed with pro teams to retain eligibility for college sports, but not if those players accept more than actual and necessary expenses as part of their participation. Then-Kentucky coach John Calipari criticized the NCAA\u2019s decision as harsh, saying it was \u201cunfortunate that a group of adults would come to such a decision regarding the future of an 18-year-old young man.\u201d Kanter Freedom went on to play 11 seasons in the NBA.<\/p>\n \n\tTimes have changed. With the NCAA permitting athletes to sign NIL deals and, with the\u00a0House\u00a0settlement allowing direct revenue-sharing opportunities from schools, the line between college and pro sports has blurred.\u00a0<\/p>\n \n\tConsider Brooklyn Nets rookie guard Egor Demin, the eighth pick in the 2025 NBA Draft. Demin joined Real Madrid as a 15-year-old in 2021, signing a six-year contract with the club. In part through an NIL deal and by\u00a0buying out<\/a>\u00a0Demin\u2019s Real Madrid contract, BYU recruited Demin to play for the Cougars in the 2024-25 academic year. Demin was deemed NCAA eligible because his Real Madrid compensation was limited to what were construed as actual and necessary expenses.<\/p>\n \n\tBasketball isn\u2019t the only sport to see an evolution in NCAA eligibility. Last year the NCAA\u00a0ended its ban<\/a>\u00a0on Canadian Hockey League players. The ban was predicated on CHL players being \u201cpro\u201d even though their pay doesn\u2019t exceed $600 per month, and that money covers living expenses rather than compensation for labor or NIL.<\/p>\n \n\tOntario hockey player Rylan Masterson\u00a0sued the NCAA last year<\/a>, arguing the ban on CHL players runs afoul of antitrust<\/a> law. He also said the ban is hypocritical given that former pro hockey players in European leagues have joined NCAA teams. Masterson illustrated that point by referencing BU defenseman Tom Willander, a former pro hockey player in Sweden. Masterson\u2019s case, which also seeks monetary damages, continues.<\/p>\n \n\tBack to Darlan. His eligibility to play Division I contrasts with the denial of eligibility for twin brothers and basketball players Matt and Ryan Bewley, who played at Overtime Elite and then sought to play at Chicago State in 2023-24 as Division I student-athletes. The NCAA concluded they were ineligible because they received employment benefits while playing in OTE. The brothers sued the NCAA, claiming their compensation while playing in OTE ought to be understood as NIL. U.S. District Judge Robert Gettleman disagreed, reasoning that NIL means commercial use of an athlete\u2019s right of publicity and that college sports\u00a0offers a \u201cunique product.\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n \n\tThere\u2019s no obvious\u00a0legal\u00a0reason why a former G League player could play Division I men\u2019s basketball while a former NBA player who, like Darlan, hasn\u2019t played in college should be denied eligibility. Stated differently, if G League employment fits within the parameters of \u201cactual and necessary\u201d expenses, what\u2019s to say NBA employment does not?<\/p>\n \n\tBoth G League players and NBA players are professional athletes. G Leaguers sign employment contracts, earn wages and receive benefits and, through the Next Gen Basketball Players Union (NGBPU), are members of a unionized workforce. That\u2019s a key fact given that under labor law, unions represent employees\u2014not independent contractors, interns, apprentices or some other designation short of employment. While NBA players are, of course, \u201cbetter\u201d than G League players and earn much more money, those are basketball and wage level distinctions, not necessarily legal distinctions.\u00a0<\/p>\n \n\tThat\u2019s not to say expect to see a flood of former NBA players try to play college hoops. The days of U.S. basketball players jumping from high school directly to the NBA are over. Since 2006, those players must be at least 19 years old and at least one NBA season must have elapsed since they graduated from high school or, if they didn\u2019t graduate, when they would have graduated.\u00a0<\/p>\n \n\tThat was a major change, as between 1975 and 2005,\u00a040\u00a0<\/strong>players<\/a>\u2014including LeBron James, Kevin Garnett, Dwight Howard and Tracy McGrady\u2014jumped from high school to the NBA. Current collegiate golfer J.R. Smith, who played 18 NBA seasons,\u00a0was one of them<\/a>.<\/p>\n \n\tBut many NBA players have nonetheless skipped college and could\u2014at least theoretically and eventually\u2014seek to play in college, where they could profit from NIL and revenue sharing. International players, who are eligible for the NBA at age 19 and have turned pro\u00a0as young as 13<\/a>, often bypass college. Last year, the NBA reported there were\u00a0125 international players<\/a>\u00a0from 43 countries across six continents on opening night. Many of them, including Giannis Antetokounmpo, Victor Wembanyama and Jonathan Kuminga, didn\u2019t play in college.<\/p>\n \n\tAlthough their path remains atypical, some recent U.S. players have skipped college. Charlotte Hornets star LaMelo Ball played in three pro leagues before being picked third overall in the 2020 NBA Draft. After finishing high school, Phoenix Suns guard Jalen Green played for NBA G League<\/a> Ignite and was then picked second overall in the 2021 NBA Draft. Darius Bazley interned for New Balance for a year before becoming a first-round pick in the 2019 NBA Draft.\u00a0<\/p>\n \n\tThe prospect of more former pro athletes joining colleges isn\u2019t just a basketball or hockey phenomenon. From a talent perspective, college soccer would be greatly enhanced if former players from MLS, European and Mexican leagues were eligible. The same is true for college baseball, with many MLB players, particularly international ones, having joined MLB organizations\u00a0without attending college<\/a>.<\/p>\n \n\tThe idea of a college\u00a0student\u00a0partaking in a university-sponsored activity in which the student has already \u201cturned pro\u201d also isn\u2019t unique. Former child actors who attend college aren\u2019t precluded from acting in university productions or receiving an acting-related scholarship. In fact, some former child actors, such as Haley Joel Osment and Dakota Fanning,\u00a0studied acting<\/a>\u00a0and film while in college.<\/p>\n \n\tThe same principles are true for musicians, artists and other performers. A former Indiana kick returner, Lance Bennett, moonlighted as a\u00a0song writer<\/a>\u00a0for Will Smith while playing for the Hoosiers. Analogously, YouTube and TikTok influencers\u2014including Livvy Dunne\u2014have earned money when they later attended college.\u00a0<\/p>\n \n\tWe\u2019re also in a time when college athletes are suing\u00a0to stay in school<\/a>\u00a0and to block the NCAA from enforcing rules limiting eligibility to four seasons of intercollegiate competition within a five-year period. The cascade of antitrust lawsuits began last year when 24-year-old Vanderbilt quarterback Diego Pavia brought his case and continues to this day. These athletes don\u2019t want to leave college, because they can earn, in some instances, many millions of dollars in NIL and revenue sharing. If deemed eligible, \u201ccollege\u201d athletes could remain with their university for years as graduate students. They could enjoy earnings that might not be possible in the pros\u2014if they even make it to the pros.<\/p>\n \n\tRelaxing athlete eligibility rules is also logical given that universities are facing a barrage of financial pressures and, to be blunt, could use the bodies.\u00a0<\/p>\n