Big Ten bans former NFL players from returning, imposes penalties; SEC follows
The Big Ten voted to prohibit former NFL players from using a fifth year of eligibility and will suspend coaches for half the remaining games, while the SEC announced a similar policy.
The Big Ten athletic directors and faculty athletics representatives voted unanimously to bar former NFL players from returning to college football for a fifth year of eligibility. The conference will also suspend any coach who fields such a player for 50% of the team’s remaining games and impose a financial penalty equal to 20% of the football budget, mirroring the NCAA’s ghost-transfer rule.
The SEC announced a comparable policy after a meeting at its headquarters in Birmingham, Alabama, as LSU considered adding two ex-NFL players to its roster. The conference also urged Congress to pass the Protect College Sports Act to safeguard its rules.
Other Power Five conferences are reviewing similar measures; the Big 12 is evaluating a ban and the ACC is set to discuss the issue. The moves come amid legal challenges that have allowed some former professionals to seek a fifth season under recent court rulings.
"The lawsuits are circumventing the NCAA, but now when the league says you can't do it, now you're dealing with problems with your conference," said a head coach of a power conference.
"There are a lot of parts of this I don't like. I don't think professionals should come back to college sports and college football," LSU coach Lane Kiffin told The Pat McAfee Show.
The Big Ten’s decision expands its existing Sportsmanship Policy, which previously gave the commissioner authority to levy fines and suspensions, while more severe sanctions required executive committee approval. The conference indicated that violations will be addressed swiftly and decisively.
Legal experts anticipate possible lawsuits from players or schools seeking to challenge the bans, but the unanimous support among the 18 Big Ten members suggests the rule will be enforced.