David Jones took the step everyone has been anticipating for weeks on Saturday.

The Memphis basketball star, who led the Tigers in scoring and rebounding, declared for the NBA Draft while maintaining his collegiate eligibility.

Jones will spend the next few weeks working out for and getting feedback from NBA executives. It might lead to him getting picked in the NBA Draft (June 26-27). It could convince a team to offer him a two-way contract.

It may also lead Jones right back to the Tigers. But, if a return to Memphis does not happen, it will not be because he can’t make a significant amount of money via NIL.

As we embark upon a new week – the first since FedEx and Memphis announced a game-changing NIL partnership that will provide $5 million a year for each of the next five years for most of the school’s athletic programs – there is a growing misconception that Jones, who is from the Dominican Republic, is excluded from making NIL money because he was not born in the United States.

“I’ve seen that a ton out there with lots of other schools as well, where some folks are under the impression that it’s impossible,” said Mit Winter, a college sports attorney at Kansas City-based Kennyhertz Perry LLC. “It’s not as easy as if you’re from the United States, but it’s definitely possible.”

What makes the current NIL model more convoluted for athletes like Jones is his visa status. Most international students come to the United States on an F-1 visa, which puts legal limits on their ability to work and make money while on domestic soil.

“Therefore, if they engage in that activity while they’re in the U.S., they would violate the terms of their student visa, and they would open themselves up for deportation,” David Weber, a law professor at Creighton, told The World earlier this year.

But there are multiple avenues for Jones and other foreign-born players to get paid. The most common boils down to logistics.

College athletes are free to engage in unlimited NIL opportunities as long as they are not physically inside the U.S. Some Division I teams take part in exhibition tournaments or in-season multi-team events that take place in foreign countries. Memphis, for example, participated in the Battle 4 Atlantis in the Bahamas last season. Jones received NIL money during that trip, multiple sources told The Commercial Appeal.

The sources requested anonymity because financial terms were not made public.

“If they’re outside the United States, they can do social media posts, podcasts, videos or any other type of NIL deliverable you can imagine,” said Winter. “When athletes go home for breaks, etc., they’ll do activities and be paid for that stuff.”

Another way is through “passive” NIL arrangements, which is a deal that does not include anything that could be considered work on the athlete’s part.

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“So, an example, an athlete signs a licensing agreement that says someone can use their image or their name on a T-shirt,” Winter said. “That person can go sell those shirts and the athlete can collect royalties. As long as they aren’t actively promoting the merchandise, they can just sit there and collect checks.”

The least common option is for an athlete to obtain either a P-1 visa or an O-1 visa.

“But those are really hard to get,” Winter said. “They’re expensive, too. It’s not a solution for most college athletes.”

If Jones is going to withdraw from draft consideration and return to school, he has until May 29 to do so.

Tigers coach Penny Hardaway has expressed optimism regarding Jones' potential return to Memphis, giving the program a "70-30" shot. The Tigers have commitments from Division I transfers PJ Haggerty, Dain Dainja and Colby Rogers. The team also signed incoming freshman Jared Harris last November.

Reach sports writer Jason Munz at jason.munz@commercialappeal.com or follow him @munzly on X, the social media app formerly known as Twitter.

This article originally appeared on Memphis Commercial Appeal: If David Jones returns to Memphis basketball, can he make NIL money?