NCAA G League Eligibility Retreat Marks Amateurism’s Latest Defeat

The NCAA’s 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.

The decision could have implications that go way beyond ex-G Leaguers and into other groups of former pro athletes—including 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 and revenue share opportunities in college sports.

ESPN says the 6-foot-8, 21-year-old guard will be eligible to 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, played in 58 G League games from 2023 to 2025, averaging 7.9 points, 5.2 rebounds and 1.4 assists per game.



The NCAA declined to comment on Darlan’s eligibility. The association generally does not comment on specific eligibility cases.

For 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.

Amateurism was in full force 15 years ago when the NCAA denied Enes Kanter Freedom the 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.

However, the NCAA determined Kanter received more than $30,000 from a professional team that exceeded expenses the NCAA classified as “actual and necessary,” 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’s decision as harsh, saying it was “unfortunate that a group of adults would come to such a decision regarding the future of an 18-year-old young man.” Kanter Freedom went on to play 11 seasons in the NBA.

Times have changed. With the NCAA permitting athletes to sign NIL deals and, with the House settlement allowing direct revenue-sharing opportunities from schools, the line between college and pro sports has blurred.



Consider 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 buying out Demin’s 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.

Basketball isn’t the only sport to see an evolution in NCAA eligibility. Last year the NCAA ended its ban on Canadian Hockey League players. The ban was predicated on CHL players being “pro” even though their pay doesn’t exceed $600 per month, and that money covers living expenses rather than compensation for labor or NIL.

Ontario hockey player Rylan Masterson sued the NCAA last year, arguing the ban on CHL players runs afoul of antitrust 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’s case, which also seeks monetary damages, continues.

Back 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’s right of publicity and that college sports offers a “unique product.”

There’s no obvious legal reason why a former G League player could play Division I men’s basketball while a former NBA player who, like Darlan, hasn’t played in college should be denied eligibility. Stated differently, if G League employment fits within the parameters of “actual and necessary” expenses, what’s to say NBA employment does not?



Both 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’s a key fact given that under labor law, unions represent employees—not independent contractors, interns, apprentices or some other designation short of employment. While NBA players are, of course, “better” than G League players and earn much more money, those are basketball and wage level distinctions, not necessarily legal distinctions.

That’s 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’t graduate, when they would have graduated.

That was a major change, as between 1975 and 2005, 40players—including LeBron James, Kevin Garnett, Dwight Howard and Tracy McGrady—jumped from high school to the NBA. Current collegiate golfer J.R. Smith, who played 18 NBA seasons, was one of them.

But many NBA players have nonetheless skipped college and could—at least theoretically and eventually—seek 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 as young as 13, often bypass college. Last year, the NBA reported there were 125 international players from 43 countries across six continents on opening night. Many of them, including Giannis Antetokounmpo, Victor Wembanyama and Jonathan Kuminga, didn’t play in college.

Although 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 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.



The prospect of more former pro athletes joining colleges isn’t 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 without attending college.

The idea of a college student partaking in a university-sponsored activity in which the student has already “turned pro” also isn’t unique. Former child actors who attend college aren’t 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, studied acting and film while in college.

The same principles are true for musicians, artists and other performers. A former Indiana kick returner, Lance Bennett, moonlighted as a song writer for Will Smith while playing for the Hoosiers. Analogously, YouTube and TikTok influencers—including Livvy Dunne—have earned money when they later attended college.

We’re also in a time when college athletes are suing to stay in school and 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’t want to leave college, because they can earn, in some instances, many millions of dollars in NIL and revenue sharing. If deemed eligible, “college” athletes could remain with their university for years as graduate students. They could enjoy earnings that might not be possible in the pros—if they even make it to the pros.

Relaxing athlete eligibility rules is also logical given that universities are facing a barrage of financial pressures and, to be blunt, could use the bodies.



The long-dreaded “enrollment cliff,” a decline of about 15% in U.S. college-age students due to a drop in U.S. birthrates beginning in 2008, has arrived. The cliff means fiercer competition for a smaller pool of applicants. At many universities, there will be lower enrollments and reduced revenue from tuition, dorms and meal plans.

The cliff also arrives as the Trump Administration cuts research grants, places stricter barriers on international students (who often pay full tuition) and limits student loan opportunities. If there was ever a time for the NCAA to make it easier for its member schools to enroll student athletes, that time is now.

One way colleges are adapting to new demographic and political reality is by embracing non-traditional students—including older, commuter and part-time enrollees. As NCAA enforcement evolves, those non-traditional ranks are increasingly likely to come from a group the association once shunned: professional athletes.

https://www.sportico.com/law/analysis/2025/ncaa-g-league-player-amateurism-1234872285/

 

I have issues with people getting paid to play college ball while on scholarship.

I don't care if someone played overseas professionally (I don't know if this exact scenario has ever happened) and then played college ball (up until a certain age of course), and I feel no differently about this scenario either. But I do find issues with players getting paid a mother load of money while getting a free education, when there are tons of athletes who don't get those benefits.

 

My point was the players who were bitching about not being paid while getting a free education.

That doesn't mean I think the schools should pocket the profits they make off of the players.

 

Any school with dignity should spin off their sports operations now.

Similar to how churches probably shouldn't own brothels.

barfo

 

The NBA should play college football!

You know, 5 on 5 flag football would be an awesome NBA All-Star Weekend event.

 

I'm going back to college! I've got ALL my college eligibility left! Not to mention my high school eligibility, my jr high eligibility, and all but one day of my grade school eligibility!

barfo