The already blurry line between college football and the NFL has nearly disappeared. A Louisiana court ruling could allow several players currently under NFL contracts to return to college for the 2026 season.
NFL players receive temporary NCAA eligibility
According to ESPN, a group of 33 athletes received a temporary restraining order Wednesday as part of a lawsuit against the NCAA. The order gives them a temporary path toward another college season, including athletes who signed NFL contracts after exhausting their eligibility.
Former Oregon State running back Anthony Hankerson, former Florida and LSU pass rusher Jack Pyburn and former Ole Miss players Dae’Quan Wright and Wydett Williams are among those currently on NFL rosters.
That creates a scenario college football has never seriously encountered. A player could spend an entire summer inside an NFL organization, get released during final cuts and then reappear on a college roster weeks later.
Welcome to modern college athletics, where apparently even going professional may no longer end a college career.
The players would reportedly need to be released from their NFL contracts by Sept. 1 to take advantage of the order. NFL teams must reduce their rosters to 53 players by Aug. 30, leaving a narrow window for those who do not make a roster to pursue a return.
Lawsuit challenges new NCAA eligibility rules
The lawsuit argues that the NCAA unfairly denied these athletes the fifth season of competition afforded to other groups of players.
The NCAA recently adopted a new eligibility structure allowing athletes to compete for five seasons during a five-year window. However, players from the 2022 recruiting class could fall into an awkward gap. They arrived after the group that received additional eligibility because of the COVID-19 pandemic but before the new model took effect.
Another federal judge previously ruled that certain members of that class could pursue a fifth season. That ruling was later clarified to exclude athletes who had signed professional contracts.
The Louisiana order takes the dispute another step by temporarily protecting players who already entered the NFL. It does not guarantee that any of them will return to college, nor does it represent a final ruling in the case. For now, however, it gives them an option that appeared impossible only days ago.
College football faces another eligibility mess
The immediate effect could be limited. Some players may remain with their NFL teams, while others would need to find a college program with an available roster spot and enough financial flexibility to add them after preseason preparation has already begun.
The precedent is far more significant.
If courts continue overruling NCAA eligibility decisions, professional football may no longer represent a firm point of no return. Players cut from NFL rosters could begin viewing college football as a fallback option, especially when NIL compensation can rival or exceed what they would earn on a practice squad.
The NCAA is expected to challenge the order. Until then, coaches, NFL front offices and players are left navigating another rule that may change before anyone has time to understand it.
College football wanted to become more like the NFL. Few expected that to include sending players back in the other direction.
