Indiana University student-athlete pays off sister's student loans for Christmas
A junior business major who plays basketball for Indiana University gave his sister the ultimate Christmas present.
It has been less than three years since the choice to allow student-athletes to make money from their name, image, and likeness. The decision, made by Congress and the NCAA, allows them to sign endorsement deals, apply for jobs, and start their own businesses. An estimated 460,000 student-athletes across the U.S. have benefited from the new rule change and the money is pouring in.
Anthony Leal is a 21-year-old junior at Indiana University, where he plays point guard for the men's basketball team. The business major does work throughout the Bloomington community, has endorsement deals, and just started his own real estate company.
"We're just trying to make the most of the opportunity we have," Anthony Leal told CBS News in his first TV interview.
This Christmas, with money saved to date, he paid over $50,000 to pay off his sister Lauren's student loan debt. It's something he had been plotting to do for his role model since his freshman year.
"I don't expect anything in return," Anthony Leal said. "I know she'll pay it forward, what goes around comes around."
For Lauren Leal, a 23-year-old aspiring physician assistant, the gift means a fresh start as she enters the real world. The one word to describe just how she feels about no longer having to worry about student loan debt.
"Freedom would be the best word for that. And like I can go full steam ahead in my future and what I want to accomplish, what I want to do, without having that just weighing me down and holding me back. So it's just, it's surreal. it's incredible," Lauren Leal told CBS News.