Several NFL rookies have been granted temporary restraining orders that would allow them to return to college football despite signing professional contracts this year, per ESPN’s Dan Murphy and Pete Thamel.
A federal judge ruled in July that athletes from the high school class of 2022 who began their college careers that fall would receive a fifth year of college eligiblity for the 2026-2027 season. That opened the door to a lawsuit filed in Louisiana state court by more than 30 college athletes seeking a reinstatement of their eligibility for the upcoming season.
Four players currently on NFL rosters joined in the suit: Browns tight end Dae’Quan Wright, Seahawks running back Anthony Hankerson, Cardinals safety Wydett Williams, and Buccaneers linebacker Jack Pyburn all joined in the suit. Those first four players are seeking to be released from their NFL contracts; if that happens by September 1, they will be permitted to join a college team for the 2026 season.
Several, including Wright, Seahawks running back TJ Harden, former Ole Miss defensive tackle Zxavian Harris, and former BYU offensive lineman Weylin Lapuaho, have already entered the transfer portal, according to CBS Sports’ Matt Zenitz and 247Sports’ Chris Hummer, with more expected to follow.
This lawsuit is one of several filed since the NCAA changed its eligibility rules in June. College athletes are now allowed to play five seasons within a five-year timespan, but waivers that players used to extend their eligibility have largely been eliminated. The original ruling was expected to bring a wave of athletes back into college sports this year, but NFL players returning to college after signing pro contracts is unprecedented.
NFL teams are already dealing with the impact of this latest lawsuit. The Browns, for example, have worked out multiple tight ends in the past week with Wright absent from training camp, according to Zac Jackson of The Athletic. There is also the financial fallout, as Wright, Williams, and Pyburn all received a signing bonus – none larger than $25K – and guaranteed salary – $100K for Williams and Pyburn, $25K for Wright – when they signed their rookie contracts, per OverTheCap.
The bonuses have already been paid out, but the guaranteed salary will be due when the players are released before final roster cuts. (Their attempts to return to NCAA suggests they are not anticipating making a 53-man roster.) Teams were already on the hook for those guarantees, but they may feel shortchanged by players taking that money and returning to college. Clubs could seek to void the guarantees, but the NFL’s Collective Bargaining Agreement has no clear language on this unprecedented issue.
No player has ever returned to the NCAA after signing an professional football contract. Pyburn and Williams already made their NFL preseason debuts, with Pyburn logging two sacks for the Buccaneers. This is uncharted water for both leagues with no clear path forward, though the players involved seem to believe they are on firm ground to return to college football unobstructed.
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