Ex-NFL Players Sue NCAA for Extra College Season
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- Dae'Quan Wright, Zxavian Harris, and Wydett Williams joined 30 other athletes in a Louisiana state court lawsuit filed Wednesday seeking a temporary restraining order to return to college for a fifth season after signing with NFL teams this summer.
- Wright, Williams, and former Oregon State running back Anthony Hankerson are currently on NFL rosters for the Browns, Cardinals, and Seahawks, respectively, and have expressed interest in being released from their contracts by Sept. 1 to rejoin college rosters, according to attorney Ryan Downton.
- The NCAA changed its eligibility rules in June to allow five seasons within a five-year window but declined to grandfather in outgoing seniors who had already played four seasons, prompting lawsuits by more than 100 athletes across multiple states.
- Judge Charlotte Sweeney issued the most significant restraining order on July 31 in the Wisne v. NCAA class action, allowing athletes who started their college careers in 2022-23 to play a fifth season; NCAA chief legal officer Scott Bearby called the ruling 'egregious' in a memo to schools.
- The NCAA won an appeal earlier this week in the Borovicanin v. NCAA case in Ohio state court, while Boise State law professor Sam Ehrlich said athletes continue filing cases in multiple states as 'added protection in case Wisne fails.'
- NCAA senior VP of external affairs Tim Buckley said courts granting relief to ineligible athletes are 'failing to appreciate the destabilizing effect their rulings are having on college sports' and accused plaintiffs' lawyers of trying to make college sports a 'fallback option' for professionals.
Why it matters: The NCAA's June eligibility overhaul — meant to prevent a sudden flood of returning seniors from displacing incoming freshmen — instead triggered a multi-state legal counteroffensive from more than 100 athletes. With three plaintiffs still holding active NFL roster spots and a Sept. 1 release deadline looming, the association faces overlapping restraining orders it has publicly labeled 'egregious' and 'destabilizing' to college sports.
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