Multiple first-year NFL players win TRO for fifth-year of college football – NBC Sports
Multiple first-year NFL players win TRO for fifth-year of college football
- By
- Mike Florio,
- By
- Mike Florio
Published August 19, 2026 07:57 PM
And now we know why multiple college players have been hounding NFL agents about first-year players from the class of 2022 who may soon be cut
Sixteen football players were parties to the lawsuit, and three of them are currently listed on NFL 90-man teams. If released in the roster cuts from 90 to 53, they’ll be allowed to return to college
It’s the latest development in a string of lawsuits attempting to force the NCAA to apply its new five-year rule retroactively. And it’s another example of the chaos flowing from the reckoning that followed decades of refusing to allow college athletes to earn money, directly from the schools or indirectly from their names, images, and likenesses
Even though the broader system craves a return to normalcy and predictability, multiple individual schools are ready to pounce on players who can make their teams better in 2026
For the players who have gotten another season of eligibility, it’s not a simple calculation. Many who don’t make the initial 53-man roster will be given spots on the practice squad. Which could become opportunities during the season to get signed to a team and to earn an accrued season
As one team executive observed, it will be a “dangerous game” for the players. Still, it’s a game they previously weren’t allowed to play — because they weren’t permitted to make business decisions
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