Fiona Crawley plays Division I tennis for the University of North Carolina. In her three years as a Tar Heel, Crawley was the 2023 ITA National Player of the Year, ACC Player of the Year, 2023 NCAA Doubles National Champion, and 3x member of the ITA National Team Indoor Championship teams. Crawley is going into her senior year at North Carolina as the best college player in the country.
Crawley recently made headlines by making it to the first round of the U.S. Open. She was a wildcard a received a bid after winning three qualifying matches in a row. Making it to the first round of the U.S. Open gives you $81,000 in prize money. However, as a college athlete, Crawley couldn't take the money.
In order for college athletes to keep their amateur status, the NCAA only allows athletes to accept up to $10,000 a year in prize money. The NCAA also states, “Generally, once prospective student-athletes enroll full time at a college or university, they may not accept more prize money than expenses for each competition.”
Crawley wanted to be able to finish her final year of college tennis, but that also meant giving up a huge chunk of change.
After being eliminated from the tournament, Crawley told a reporter,
“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 is right. According to On3's NIL valuations, basketball player Bronny James' valuation is $6.1 million, football star Arch Manning's is $2.9 million, and Heisman Trophy winner Caleb Williams is $2.6 million.
Fiona Crawley was able to qualify for one of the biggest tennis tournaments in the world, but she was not able to reap the monetary benefits. Crawley obviously understands the eligibility requirements to play college tennis. However, missing out on that much money cannot be an easy thing to forfeit.
Fiona Crawley and the Tar Heels will begin their season next weekend, September 15 and 17 at home in Chapel Hill.
Image Credit: University of North Carolina Athletics
