Fifth Year Fiasco: Pro Athletes Returning to College

         Earlier this year, the NCAA introduced the “five-for-five” eligibility standard, abolishing the former “redshirting" system. The redshirting system gave athletes five years to participate in four seasons, with one “redshirt” year to sit out to address injury, academics, or roster depth complications. The NCAA replaced redshirting with a new system in which players receive a strict five-year window to participate in up to five full seasons. This new "eligibility clock” starts as soon as an athlete enrolls full-time in college, or at the beginning of the school year after their 19th birthday. 

         But this new rule has led to fierce controversy on many fronts. For example, injured players requiring more than a year of recovery lose eligibility time, meaning the system punishes players for injuries, something they cannot control. Also, since college football teams have a hard cap of 105 players, roster spots for incoming freshmen and transfers are blocked by former seniors’ legal right to a fifth season. Hence, the rule impedes both the recruitment of new talent and the ability for these prospects to join an elite program. Finally, and most notably, the NCAA deemed the group of athletes known as "the class of 2022" ineligible for a fifth season. These athletes technically should receive a fifth year under the new rule, because they are only four years into their five year clock, assuming they never paused it by “redshirting.” As a result, dozens of attorneys representing football, basketball, and baseball players across the country took to court. So far, federal and state judges have taken strides to prevent the NCAA from excluding these athletes, allowing them to return to the field or court for a fifth season. 

        Two infamous cases are that of Dae’quan Wright and Zxavian Harris, two former University of Mississippi football players that are currently banned from both the NCAA and NFL. They signed rookie contracts with NFL teams, completed NFL training camp over the summer, but were subsequently dropped from their teams. Seeking a fifth year under the new NCAA rule, the players attempted to join their former coach, Lane Kiffin, now at Louisiana State University (LSU). But this move faced severe public backlash; many believed that NFL players regressing to college football is an inappropriate and unfair advantage. Recruits should come from high schools, junior colleges, and other colleges, not the professional level. Nonetheless, a Louisiana judge granted them a preliminary injunction to seek their fifth year, but the Southeastern Conference (SEC), arguably the most competitive college football conference,  stepped in and threatened to expel LSU from the conference if they roster the players. Under pressure from both the conference and the public, Kiffin chose to not roster the players. Barred from both the NFL and college football, Wright and Harris will sit out this fall. They may return to the NFL as free agents in the 2027 season. Thanks to the SEC’s intervention, Kiffin was not able to gain the unfair advantage of having NFL-caliber players on his team.

       Signing a contract with a pro team should end your college eligibility. Even if a player is cut in an NFL training camp, that player has already chosen to pursue a professional career and should not be allowed to go back and enjoy the benefits of playing for a top collegiate program. Signing players like Wright and Harris, who have already had NFL opportunities, prevents development of younger players who are being left off rosters due to the new rules. Even if LSU added Wright and Harris and went on to win the National Championship, would two additional players and one title be worth risking LSU’s 20 varsity sports memberships in the SEC? Having to make decisions like this effectively erases the line between college and professional sports.

       While controversy remains at LSU, lawmakers in Washington D.C. are proposing legislation attempting to address the current chaos of college athletics. The Protect College Sports Act, introduced by senators Ted Cruz and Maria Cantwell in June, would put restrictions on NIL, the transfer portal, future conference realignment, revenue, and eligibility. The act was passed in the Senate on September 28, and will now go to the House of Representatives. While the legislation tackles a plethora of recent issues in the NCAA, including restricting the transfer portal and being more strict about eligibility, it does not directly address the issues that arose at LSU. 

        Despite the act, specifically the five-for-five rule, making a larger attempt to address the current madness of college sports, the LSU situation needs to be specifically addressed in order to keep these programs on a level playing field. Entering the pros should end eligibility, and without tackling this now, college athletics could take a turn for the worse.