NFL-Rostered Players Granted Restraining Order to Return to College
The SEC and Big Ten have now moved to bar these players outright, threatening fines and coach suspensions, putting Dae'Quan Wright's planned move to LSU in serious jeopardy even after he cleared NFL waivers.
A Louisiana federal court granted a temporary restraining order allowing athletes who signed NFL contracts to pursue a return to college football for a fifth season, provided their NFL teams release them by Sept. 1.
What's the legal basis?
The order ties to a broader lawsuit in which 33 athletes across multiple sports, including 16 football players, sued the NCAA for a fifth year of eligibility. It follows a separate July 31 federal ruling in Denver that found high-school class-of-2022 athletes who exhausted four seasons of college eligibility this spring qualify for a fifth season. The NCAA has called the rulings destabilizing to college sports and has not conceded the underlying eligibility issue.
Which current NFL-rostered players are involved?
Players named in reporting include running back Anthony Hankerson (Seattle Seahawks, formerly Oregon State), defensive end Jack Pyburn (Tampa Bay Buccaneers, formerly Florida and LSU), Dae'Quan Wright (Cleveland Browns, formerly Ole Miss) and Wydett Williams (Arizona Cardinals, formerly Ole Miss). Some background details on these players vary slightly across outlets and should be treated as preliminary.
What happens next?
This is a temporary restraining order, not a final ruling, so the situation remains legally unresolved and could change quickly. In practice, it functions as a fallback path: any of these players who don't make their team's 53-man roster at the Aug. 30 cutdown could be released in time to return to a college program for a fifth season.
Has anyone actually gone through with it?
Yes. The Browns waived Wright on Sunday, and if he clears NFL waivers, the plan is for him to join LSU under new coach Lane Kiffin, who previously coached Wright at Ole Miss, where he caught 39 passes for 635 yards and 5 touchdowns in 2025. Wright had signed with Philadelphia as an undrafted free agent, moved to Cleveland via waivers, and had not appeared in either of the Browns' first two preseason games. He's believed to be the first player from the group to move from legal theory to an actual return to college.
How are the conferences responding?
Both the SEC and Big Ten have pushed back hard. The SEC issued a statement saying pro-contract athletes "should not then be permitted to return to college competition," arguing it would "blur the line between college and professional sports." SEC commissioner Greg Sankey went further, filing an affidavit in the Louisiana case arguing such returns "fuels disruption" and asking the court to uphold NCAA eligibility rules as "essential to the integrity of college sports." Separately, the Big Ten was set to pass its own rule barring any player who declared for the NFL draft without withdrawing, appeared on an NFL roster, or signed a pro contract from playing in the conference. Since LSU is an SEC school, the conference's opposition targets exactly the scenario Wright represents.
What happens next?
A preliminary injunction hearing in the underlying Louisiana federal case is scheduled for Aug. 31 in East Baton Rouge, meaning the legal question remains unresolved even as individual players like Wright try to act on the temporary order in the meantime.
How has this escalated since?
The SEC passed a new rule banning players who were drafted by or rostered with NFL, NBA or WNBA teams from playing in the conference, joining a similar Big Ten ban. Under the Big Ten's bylaw, a school that plays such a player faces a fine equal to 20% of its football budget, and the head coach is suspended for half the season. SEC presidents have granted commissioner Greg Sankey "full and unlimited authority" to suspend a school from competition, rule a player ineligible, or suspend coaches and administrators. Wright has since cleared NFL waivers after his release from Cleveland, clearing a path to join LSU, but the new conference penalties now make actually playing him a major liability for the school and coach Lane Kiffin, leaving his 2026 playing status unresolved.
Players in this story
Sources
- ESPN: Athletes signed with NFL teams granted temporary restraining order to return to college
- ESPN: Agents: Dae'Quan Wright to be waived by Browns, set to join LSU
- ESPN: SEC: Pro athletes should not 'return to college competition'
- ESPN: Sources: Big Ten won't allow players to return from NFL
- ESPN: Sources: SEC to suspend head coaches who add pro players
- ESPN: Sources: NCAA defectors can't play for NFL team in 2026