Tenth Circuit Pauses Injunction Allowing NFL Rookies a Fifth Year of College Eligibility
A federal appeals court has stayed a district court order that would have granted first-year NFL players an additional year of college eligibility, pending a full appeal.
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit issued a stay on a nationwide injunction that had permitted first-year NFL players to claim a fifth year of college eligibility under the NCAA’s five-year rule. The stay was granted pending a full appeal of the district court’s decision in Colorado.
The injunction had been based on arguments that athletes who completed only four years of competition should be allowed to apply the newly adopted five-year eligibility standard retroactively.
Earlier this week, a Louisiana judge issued a temporary restraining order in a separate case involving former college athletes seeking to return for another season, and at least one current NFL player has entered the transfer portal.
The appellate court’s action leaves the legal status of similar cases uncertain as the 2026 college football season approaches.