DENVER — The judge who granted the right to play another year of college sports to some athletes whose eligibility ran out last school year issued a new order Sunday that makes clear that does not include football players who signed pro contracts this summer then had a change of heart.
U.S. District Judge Charlotte Sweeney responded to an NCAA request for clarity about her Friday ruling, which granted a fifth year to athletes who graduated from high school in 2022 and were not included in the new NCAA rule that allows Division I athletes five seasons of eligibility that must be used in a five-year span.
That decision, she said, still stands, but has no impact on other NCAA rules, including its prohibition on players signing pro contracts, then coming back to college.
The ruling, as first written, had the potential to upend the upcoming college football season, where teams are starting camp planning on the so-called “5-for-5” rule to take effect beginning next fall.
Extending it to players this fall granted hundreds a chance to return to school. In the direct aftermath of the decision, some media reports were listing players on NFL and CFL rosters who were signaling they’d be open to returning to school.
That now appears to be off the table after Sweeney’s clarification that said there are no changes to the NCAA’s rules regarding pros; no exceptions over when athletes can enter the transfer portal; and no impact on elements of the landmark House v. NCAA federal antitrust lawsuit settlement, which dictates how many players teams can put on rosters and how much schools can pay them.
The rulings out of U.S. District Court in Denver figure to impact sports differently. Football teams, for instance, have already started practice for this season, while baseball doesn’t start for a while.
In making decisions, teams figure to factor the NCAA’s coming appeal of Sweeney’s order and whether to risk bringing back players who could then be declared ineligible if her decision is overturned.
Charlie Baker, the president of the NCAA, issued a statement after Sweeney’s initial ruling came out Friday, saying the ruling was potentially chaos-inducing and a reason Congress needs to pass the Protect College Sports Act. That bill, being considered in the U.S. Senate, includes lawsuit protection for the NCAA over eligibility rules, which the association is defending in several courts around the country.