Schools, NFL Teams React to 2022 Eligibility Ruling
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- Judge Charlotte Sweeney's order in the Wisne vs. NCAA case extends eligibility to all 2022-class athletes who used up four years, potentially affecting hundreds to thousands of FBS football players days before fall camp.
- College football front offices were contacting former players hours after the ruling, with agents reporting schools began checking which of their athletes met the criteria Friday night; former Arizona State safety Myles Rowser, ex-Florida State QB Thomas Castellanos, and former Virginia DE Cazeem Moore have already expressed interest in returning.
- Compliance offices are proceeding cautiously, citing the Charles Bediako precedent in which a temporary restraining order let the Alabama basketball player appear in five games before an Alabama circuit court judge denied his preliminary injunction.
- NFL teams are monitoring whether players on their current training camp rosters will try to leave for college, though agents told CBS Sports pulling most players from NFL camps doesn't make sense given roster security risk.
- Most Power Four front offices told CBS Sports they had only three or fewer qualifying players on their radar, and those players largely went undrafted — muting the expected free-for-all.
- The 105-player roster cap could force late cuts if the judge's order doesn't also enjoin transfer rules; multiple sources said walk-ons would likely be the first removed weeks before kickoff.
- The NCAA is preparing an appeal to the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals that, if successful, could strip blanket eligibility from the 2022 class before the season starts.
Why it matters: Schools have a narrow window to add players before fall camp while the NCAA weighs a Tenth Circuit appeal that could void the ruling. Most of the 2026 revenue-sharing money is already allocated, limiting paydays, and any roster-cap hit may be absorbed by cutting walk-ons in the final weeks before the season.
