College football has turned into a courtroom sport lately. NIL might be the leading cause for most cases, but the chaos runs deeper than “pay-for-play.” Eligibility drama, with Joey Aguilar as a prime example, has invited fresh trouble for the sport. In such a crucial phase, Senator Eric Schmitt proposed a blueprint to restore order. 

“Restoring order to today’s chaotic college sports landscape requires action now,” a part of Schmitt’s mission read. “Without it, problems faced by fans, athletes, and institutions will escalate. Simply put, the current system is unsustainable.”

Schmitt built his reputation by launching bold safety initiatives as Missouri’s Attorney General, including the Safer Streets Initiative. Now, he is taking a similar law-and-order approach to restore stability in college football. Schmitt’s blueprint comes with four pillars. 

Pillar one’s mission is to secure stability. The proposal is to pull college sports out of the courtroom by ending rule-making through lawsuits. It would help in establishing athlete-protective standards, keeping legal roadblocks at bay. This would create one federal NIL framework. Finally, the conferences can choose their own governing bodies. 

“My plan would end this rule-making by lawsuit and give a governing body the ability to actually enforce eligibility rules and standards that have left college sports in chaos in recent years,” wrote Schmitt. “This is good news for schools and players — and keeps sports entertaining for fans.”

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In his appeal to Congress to step up, pillar two is to fix the framework. The goal is to keep athletics what they’re meant to be: a time-limited educational opportunity. Schmitt proposes that a national one-time transfer baseline would sync player movement with academic calendars rather than free-for-all windows. Then comes the part that is primarily aligned to the current scenario in college football: the eligibility guardrails.

The idea is simple, as they don’t let college football turn into a veterans’ league. Reinforced eligibility rules protect high school recruits and safeguard the development path. Finally, the pillar’s last tier is coaching accountability, aligning coaching transitions with transfer windows. The other pillars include:

Pillar 3: Protect Players and Non-Revenue Sports

• Re-center NIL around its original intent to stop exploitation
• Compensation through direct and transparent ways from schools to student athletes
• NIL payments to reflect fair market value
• Ban fake contracts designed to bypass eligibility

Pillar 4: Put Fans First

• Optimize media rights agreements to deliver maximum value
• Bring stability and clarity to conference realignment
• Focus on long-term growth and sustainability

In a tweet, Schmitt referenced Aguilar’s case, pushing for additional eligibility in the court. 

Eric Schmitt sounds an alarm after Joey Aguilar’s legal battle

Tennessee’s quarterback took his eligibility fight to court. After redshirting in 2019 and losing a season to COVID, Aguilar put in two JUCO years at Diablo Valley College Vikings football. Under the NCAA clock, those seasons counted against him. With this, his college career got shortened. Aguilar’s request for another year of eligibility comes off as unjust to Schmitt.

“The current environment is threatened by a constant string of lawsuits over eligibility — with some athletes suing for a 7th or 8th year of eligibility,” wrote Schmitt. “Without rules, schools and athletes are in limbo, and younger athletes are robbed of opportunities.”

The Senator’s case becomes stronger with Ole Miss quarterback, Trinidad Chambliss, walking the same path. He sat out the 2022 season thanks to a battle with tonsillitis and chronic fatigue. According to the latest update, the judge granted him an injunction and is now returning for the 2026 season. 

Schmitt argues that extending college careers beyond the established window leads to oversized rosters. It creates a bottleneck situation and blocks opportunities for new talent. 

This strain comes from scholarships and academic support. An athlete who has been using seven or eight years becomes a financial burden, consuming multiple cycles of institutional resources. It remains to be seen whether Eric Schmitt’s blueprint will be approved and implemented in college football.