NFL confirms players returning to college will miss 2026 season
The league reiterated that athletes who leave the NFL to resume college football will be ineligible for the 2026 NFL season and will only become free agents for 2027.
NFL executive Troy Vincent told league officials on Wednesday that any player who leaves the NFL to return to college will be barred from playing in the 2026 season and will be eligible as a free agent only for 2027. The statement follows recent decisions by the SEC and Big Ten to prohibit former NFL roster players from competing for their schools, while the ACC and Big 12 are reviewing similar policies.
Two undrafted free agents, tight end Dae'Quan Wright and defensive lineman Zxavian Harris, were waived after brief stints with NFL teams and have expressed interest in rejoining college programs at LSU under coach Lane Kiffin. Both players exhausted four years of NCAA eligibility before entering the draft, and they are among several athletes suing the NCAA over the June rule change that grants a five-year playing window to athletes who began college in 2023 or later.
Cal football general manager Ron Rivera said he hopes the ACC will adopt the same stance as the SEC and Big Ten, adding that he is disappointed by attempts to “cheat the system.”
Separately, a Tennessee Court of Appeals upheld the NCAA’s request to pause a lower-court order that would have granted a fifth year of eligibility to former Vanderbilt basketball player Jalen Washington and 18 other athletes. The decision supports the NCAA’s broader legal strategy, which has also secured stays in Ohio, New Jersey, and a federal court in Colorado.