For NCAA student-athletes, there has been a time-tested sequence of goals:

Earn a scholarship, become a starter (or star), do well academically and then go out into what every adviser, coach or parent calls the “real world.”

It is easy to imagine that college life already is enjoyable for many students. But for student-athletes, their college job of practicing and competing might be better than what’s out there after the expiration of their eligibility clocks.

In basketball, the NBA’s No. 1 pick this year, Zaccharie Risacher, signed a slotted contract that will pay him $12.6 million for the first season of a four-year, $57 million deal, according to Spotrac. The final pick (30th overall) of the first round, Baylor Scheierman, will earn $2.5 million. Second-round picks usually will sign split contracts to also play in the G League. For an undrafted free-agent, the G League’s flat-rate salary is $40,500 for the five- to six-month season.

For a standout NCAA player who is, at best, a marginal pro prospect, college life is preferable. In the Big West, of which the University of Hawaii is partial member through the 2025-26 academic year, highly rated prospects can command six-figure deals in addition to the free housing, meals and training they receive as a part of a basic athletic scholarship. And that’s for a mid-major conference. Power-conference teams can offer more lucrative deals.

In college football, the payouts can be extremely generous, especially for quarterbacks, pass rushers, receivers and blind-side tackles. UH is associated with two collectives that raise money and provide name, image, likeness opportunities for student-athletes.

The empowerment — and enrichment — of student-athletes was born from the decades of inequity and talent suppression.

Until 1972, the NCAA did not allow true freshmen to play in football and basketball games. That actually led to schools creating a development system by stocking their junior varsity teams. The restriction was lifted mostly because future Hall of Fame basketball centers Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Bill Walton were not allowed to participate as UCLA freshmen.

While coaches were allowed to move freely to other jobs, transferring players had to sit out a season at their new school before being eligible to play. Coaches received big paychecks; players lived on scholarship checks that did not cover all the basic necessities.

But now players can transfer and play immediately, earn NIL money, and transfer again for more NIL money.

All of which circles back to this issue: Is college life better than post-college life for an athlete? For many, the answer is yes.

A former UH official said the anticipated next move is a player challenging the NCAA rule restricting eligibility to four seasons in five years.

There already has been softening of the eligibility window. The NCAA allows a football player to maintain a redshirt year if he does not play in more than four games. (The postseason does not count, which actually allows a redshirt candidate to play in four regular-season games and a bowl.)

The 2020 COVID-19 year gave players an extra season of competition. With medical hardships and personal situations, it is not uncommon for rosters to list several sixth-year players. UH basketball guard Juan Munoz, who overcame three ACL injuries and an Achilles surgery, played last season as an eighth-year player.

If, say, a quarterback can earn a couple million while providing entertainment and success for a university and its fans, and also donating to high schools and charitable programs, why impose what essentially is a “mandatory retirement”on his eligibility?

It used to be about clearing space for the next recruiting class. But the NCAA’s cap on scholarships has been lifted, and soon all 105 football players — up from 85 — can receive scholarships.

Ditching the eligibility limit is good for marketing, good for brand loyalty with fans, good for student-athletes who need time to take care of other matters, good for players who realize the best job is the current one.

Another thing advisers, coaches and parents always say: Stay in school.