Should college athletes be employees of their universities?

I'm a junior from Kenya running distance on a partial scholarship. My American teammates all have NIL deals, car dealership ads, local restaurant posts. I legally can't take a single dollar of it. My F-1 visa restricts off-campus work, and NIL income would violate my status, so I watch my teammates get paid for the exact same races I run. A salary as a university employee would change everything, because on-campus employment is permitted under my visa. This is the angle nobody talks about: the current system doesn't just underpay athletes, it locks international athletes out of the only pay structure that exists. Employment status wouldn't be a bonus for us. It would be the first fair paycheck we've ever been allowed to receive.