Time to Challenge the Eligibility Rules

Oh Great……

Joe Bob playing his 8th year of college ball.

Let the universities give out salaries (NIL money) plus pensions after 20 years of play :)

You laugh but there is a QB in Michigan with a deal for $10m and have never played a snap. I’d rather pay a kid in his 8th year, $200k and know what I get than a kid $12m and he never played a snap. They can ask what they’re asking because there is a limited supply of athletes caused by the draft and eligibility rules. Increase the supply of talent and you’ll watch the price of the athlete fall.

Not the worst idea. I rather something that tamps down on complete free agency every year. Maybe limit how many times you can transfer or you have to play 2 years minimum.

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Why should a student athlete be limited to 4 years of eligibility, redshirts and etc? As long as they’re in school full time and advancing in their studies, they should be allowed to play. This would be a win/win for the universities and players. If we ended eligibility “restraints” this would pave the way for career college athletes. How would this be any different than a doctor going through clinicals, an internship and etc? If you want to severely knock down the price of high school NIL deals then increase the supply of athletes to choose from. Imagine the number of QB’s with 5-10 years under their belt. It would be no different than the farm leagues in baseball then.

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Not happening. Even if the P4 break away from the NCAA, something I think is inevitable in the long term, this is the line that won’t be crossed. Any change to college eligibility in the future will be minor, like going to 5 years without a redshirt needed. Maybe 6 years after the COVID experiment. Something like that isn’t a big deal because it will mainly apply to kids who either won’t be drafted or would be late round picks.

Why will this not happen? The NFL currently limits the draft to players three years out of HS. That has been challenged in court in our lifetimes by Maurice Clarette and held up. The NFL has full control over the draft age and that also happens to be one of the few bits of stability left in college football.

Mark my words- if the college presidents start talking about changing the eligibility rules in a more significant way, something that combined with NIL money could eventually threaten the NFL’s hold on football’s professional level, they will start openly considering changing the draft age. That would be a bomb that would really disrupt college football.

The presidents and ADs know this. The NFL loves that they get a steady stream of developed players without laying out any of their own money, but they will guard their territory with a vengeance. That’s why, even if the P4 break away from the NCAA and “college football” really becomes a lower-level pro league, there will always be eligibility restrictions similar to what we have today. If a break from the NCAA ever happens, you can bet talks will be had with the NFL to make sure they are good with the new arrangement.

Didn’t Pavia from Vandy already file the lawsuit?

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Mark my words- if the college presidents start talking about changing the eligibility rules in a more significant way, something that combined with NIL money could eventually threaten the NFL’s hold on football’s professional level, they will start openly considering changing the draft age. That would be a bomb that would really disrupt college football.

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Why should that matter? There are 5-10 schools right now buying the best high school recruits and players off current rosters. The rules that limit the supply of athletes benefits them greatly. Open the flood gates and drive the price down. If the NFL wants these players, they can come pay them. The only kids that will be playing 5-10 years will be those that don’t want to be on practice squads, those coming off injuries and those pursuing bigger degrees. The rest will be going to the NFL.

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Didn’t Pavia from Vandy already file the lawsuit?

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Yes his atty is my wife's cousin. He is from Monroe La. Vandy Alum.

This is coming. Players - especially those who excel in college and may not be NFL material - and their agents will want to keep the money flowing.

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This is coming. Players - especially those who excel in college and may not be NFL material - and their agents will want to keep the money flowing.

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I’m telling you- like with NIL, the original intent won’t matter. The NFL would go to war over this. They will change the draft age and probably buy the UFL and pump money into it as a developmental league for players who don’t even want to bother with college, or those like you are describing.

The rank and file schools of college football will not have the money to fight this kind of battle, so they aren’t going to support widely expanded eligibility. Anything beyond 5, maybe 6 years will become a problem.

Why not also allow underclassman who enter the draft and fail to make an NFL roster to come back to college? They can finish their degree, and focus on improving the area that they were lacking in.