Of all people, the most bankable football player at the University of Toledo isn’t the hotshot quarterback, the star running back, or the go-to receiver.

No, it’s the punter.

Bailey Flint may not play what is traditionally seen as a lead role, but don’t tell that to his swooning crush of fans.

Armed with degrees in theater and media communications, Flint, a senior now pursuing his master’s in liberal studies, has cleverly leveraged his singing, acting, and social media chops — along with the terrible but relatable misfortune of having a shortage of shirts to cover his washboard abs — into the largest online following of any Toledo athlete and one of the biggest audiences in college football.

Consider: He has 162,700 followers on TikTok, the video-sharing app popular with teens and young adults, which, for perspective, are more fans than the quarterbacks at Ohio State and Michigan have on their many social media platforms between them. 

His reach is something else, and it has exploded at seemingly the perfect time.

In the free-market new world of college sports, where as of this month students can sign endorsement deals and otherwise cash in on their name, image, and likeness (NIL), Flint is well-positioned to join the party.

One consulting service guessed he could earn $30,000 this year. Others suggest he could make even more.

There’s just one small catch.

He can’t see a cent of it.

Hailing from Melbourne, Australia, Flint is here on an F-1 student visa that prevents him from accepting outside income while in school.

Same goes for other international athletes, who make up 13 percent of the students on NCAA Division I sports teams.

As their teammates celebrate an overdue reimagining of the amateur model, these athletes remain on the outside looking in, at risk of losing their status in the States if they wade too deep into the NIL waters. For Flint, that means no paid endorsements with streetwear lines, a chocolate milk brand, or a local restaurant, all companies that have reached out to him.

“I’m able to accept free products,” he said. “I’m just not going to be able to accept any money, which is unfortunate.”

Now, understand, Flint isn’t complaining.

I called him, not the other way around. He appreciates his scholarship at Toledo and respects the spirit of the laws holding back his earning power today.

As a brief tutorial — and I’m just learning this myself — student-athletes with an F-1 visa are required to take a full load of classes and can work up to 20 hours per week at an on-campus job. They can earn off-campus income only through an internship in their area of study.

The idea is to protect American jobs.

“It’s hard, because the reason why [the government] limits work it is to stop people from coming in on fraudulent visas,” Flint said. “You could get a student F-1 visa, come into the country, not report to school, never pay your fees, and just go work. Or just go to school, do the bare minimum, and make a ton of money. So there have to be limits and I completely understand that.”

Still, one would hope common sense prevails, the laws evolving with the landscape.

As long as an international student is in good academic standing, is it crazy to suggest he or she deserves the same NIL opportunities as their classmates? (I would say the same for say, a world-class international pianist studying at Juilliard.)

“There could be some things done where they allow you to make money, but maybe it goes through the school or there’s something that helps regulate it,” Flint said. “There is a way to meet in the middle.”

I checked with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement about that possibility.

“The Student and Exchange Visitor Program is reviewing the updated NCAA rules with its government partners in order to issue guidance to international student athletes,” an ICE spokesman told The Blade. “The program has not issued any guidance at this time.”

Here’s hoping for the best, for the sake of all athletes but especially Flint, the most interesting man in college football.

Yes, really. I mean, a punter in the Mid-American Conference with nearly 180,000 followers on social media?

What? Why?! How?!?!

OK, honestly ...

“The reason I got famous is because I put my modeling stuff up and I got a bunch of girls that fell in love with me,” the matinee TikTok idol said, laughing.

But there’s a bit more to the story, and a lot more to Flint.

An all-around good guy, he is the renaissance man on campus.

As an actor, he starred in the school’s production of All Quiet on the Western Front, expertly playing Haie Westhus, an ill-fated German soldier in World War I. As a ukulele-playing singer, he has written and recorded more than 40 songs. As a student, he is an all-conference academic who graduated in three years. And, as a football player, he is one of the most talented punters in the country.

Last year, Flint was a team captain and nominated for the Wuerffel Trophy, which is presented annually to the player who best combines athletics, academics, and community service. He hopes to land a shot in the NFL.

Flint is just the kind of ambassador you want representing your school.

Probably your company, too.

“If he happened to have been born in the U.S.” said UT compliance director Brian Lutz, “the opportunities he could have in the Toledo community and beyond, they would be extraordinary.”

First Published July 18, 2021, 1:00 p.m.