One of the biggest stories dominating the college football news cycle as several teams are set to kickoff their season this weekend is a group of players who have signed NFL contracts attempting to play one more season of college football.
The players in question are members of the 2022 recruiting class who played four seasons in four years, but wereexcluded from a fifth seasonin the new NCAA eligibility 5-for-5 eligibility policy. They claim they wouldn't have made the jump if they'd known they could play another year, and several conferences are already passing rules to prevent such players from returning.
Rich Rodriguez wants to ban players from returning to the NCAA after signing NFL contracts
When asked on Tuesday, before news emerged that the Big 12's Athletic Directors were unanimous in their support of banning such athletes, Rich Rodriguez shared his thoughts on these athletes attempting to make their return. He not only made it clear he doesn't support it, but called for conferences tomake sure it's not allowed to happen.
"I think it's all crazy that you think a guy can sign a professional contract and he gets cut or doesn't get what he wants to get, and he goes back and plays [college]," Rodriguez said. "I think all the conferences should say you can't do it."
Rich Rodriguez during today's press availability: "I think it's all crazy that you think a guy can sign a professional contract and he gets cut or doesn't get what he wants to get, and he goes back and plays [college] ... I think all the conferences should say you can't do it."https://t.co/mLDz5uxnWUpic.twitter.com/59Q1Ypege4
— Joe Smith (@joesmithwrites)August 26, 2026
It's amazing that it needs to be said at this point, but this is a common sense take that should not be controversial. It's understandable to take the position that the NCAA should have made these moves on the eligibility change at an earlier date and allowed these athletes a fifth year as well. It's not fair what happened to them.
But in this particular case, the rules have always dictated with college football in particular that players are not allowed to enter the NFL Draft, nonetheless sign a professional contract (and in some cases, play preseason games), and then return.
That should not be changed for a small group of players, particularly when it sets a precedent in a world where NCAA athletes love to use courts to challenge NCAA rules. And luckily, it seems that most of the conferences agree with Rodriguez's take, as they quickly have taken action to pass rule changes preventing it. Now, we'll see if those hold up under the legal scrutiny that's sure to follow.
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