It has been the dream of North Carolina tennis star Fiona Crawley to play in the U.S. Open. When she was victorious in her qualifying matches, she earned a spot in the main draw where she had a chance to play Russia’s Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova inthe first round of the tournament.

While Crawley lost the match, she earned $81,000 for getting that far. However, Crawley was not allowed to keep the money because she wanted to maintain her NCAA eligibility. Even though college athletes are now now capable of earning huge amounts through NIL deals, actual prize money won in athletic competitions remains out of bounds for college athletes.

The fact that Crawley could not keep the money she earned has angered the tennis player.

“I would never take the money and never risk my eligibility, but I worked my butt off this week and it seems unreal that there are football and basketball players making millions in NIL deals, and I can’t take the money that I worked so hard for,” Crawley said. “It’s so horrible. I can’t even talk about it, I’m sorry. It’s so, so horrible.”

Crawley could have earned as much as $10,000 from her tournament performance, according to NCAA rules. However, that money could not have come directly from the tournament itself. It would have had to come from sponsors.

The rules that have impacted Fiona Crawley and other college athletes appear to be out of touch with reality. An athlete who can get a huge sponsorship deal from a national or local business is allowed to do so, but athletes are still not able to earn money from their sport and maintain their amateur status.