Matt Zenitz of CBS Sports reported earlier today that there are current NFL players who are looking to be granted an extra year of college football eligibility. If you haven’t been following the news at the college level, the NCAA has granted a five-year eligibility agreement to close some of the loopholes that allowed players to play six, seven, eight and even nine years of college ball due to various forms of redshirts.
Since that announcement, players from the 2022 class, whose college eligibility has expired since they weren’t given that fifth year, have been making their case to return to college football for one more season, with the argument being that they should also benefit from this rule. Before Zenitz’s reporting, these players had mostly been players who at most had tryouts with NFL teams, but had not signed an NFL contract.
The difference now is that some players under NFL contracts are looking to go back to college and cash in on some NIL money. The first official case of this seems to be former LSU edge rusher Jack Byburn, who signed with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers as an undrafted free agent for $115,000 in guarantees. If Byburn is released from the Buccaneers at the cutdown deadline, he should be able to pocket that $115,000 without the team being able to claw it back, since he was released from the 53-man roster — even if he’s allowed to go the college route instead of re-signing to an NFL practice squad. Again, this is pending the courts ruling in his favor.
If you’re wondering, “Which Packers players were members of the 2022 recruiting class,” I took the time to figure that out. Below are all of the players on Green Bay’s roster who might be impacted if Pyburn receives a ruling from the courts to have the option to return to NCAA football.
- RB Damien Martinez
- WR Matthew Golden
- DL Chris McClellan
- EDGE Dani Dennis-Sutton
- EDGE Nyjalik Kelly
- CB Domani Jackson
- K Trey Smack
Rookie Brandon Cisse is actually a member of the 2023 class, which means he would have had two extra years of eligibility if he had returned to school, but it’s worth noting that he declared for the draft early and didn’t have his eligibility expire naturally. If 2022 class players (or later) are allowed to return to the NCAA for a fifth year, only if they didn’t declare early for the league, here’s the relevant Packers, since both Martinez and Golden also declared for the draft early:
- DL Chris McClellan
- EDGE Dani Dennis-Sutton
- EDGE Nyjalik Kelly
- CB Domani Jackson
- K Trey Smack
McClellan, Dennis-Sutton, Jackson and Smack are likely to make the Packers’ 53-man roster, so it’s unlikely that they would test the college route, even if it opens up. The interesting one is Kelly, who will still make a guaranteed $262,500 from Green Bay if he is released at the cutdown deadline — which the team wouldn’t be able to claw back upon his release. Potentially, he could double-dip and take that money while returning to college football, depending on what the courts allow.
An NFL practice squad salary for a first-year player is a fixed rate of $13,750 per week ($247,500 for the full season), for perspective. According to an ESPN article recently posted by reporter Max Olson, the average cost of a starting edge defender for one year at the college level for “Power 4” programs is between $500,000 and $1.2 million. For Kelly, specifically, how a judge rules on Pyburn’s situation could be a major factor in whether it makes financial sense to go back to the college route for another year.
Three Ole Miss players who had their eligibility expire from the 2022 class and signed with NFL teams this offseason have been granted a temporary retraining order for a fifth year of eligibility in college, per ESPN. Those players are tight end Dae’Quan Wright (currently of the Cleveland Browns), defensive lineman Zxavian Harris (who was a member of the New Orleans Saints) and safety Wydett Williams Jr. (currently of the Arizona Cardinals).
According to ESPN, 33 athletes, over multiple sports, filed a lawsuit in Louisiana today. The only other current NFL player involved in that particular lawsuit is Anthony Hankerson, a running back for the Seattle Seahawks. Pyburn is joining the suit, per Dan Murphy and Pete Thamel’s reporting.
