The NFL has issued a direct warning to waived players attempting to return to college football. Any athlete who goes back to the collegiate ranks will be officially barred from the entire 2026 NFL season. This strict mandate directly targets two former Ole Miss Rebels looking to make an unprecedented campus comeback.
Tight end Dae’Quan Wright and defensive lineman Zxavian Harris are actively attempting to join the LSU Tigers after being cut by their NFL clubs. NFL Executive Vice President of Football Operations Troy Vincent addressed league meetings to formally shut down these moves.
“NFL executive Troy Vincent reiterated the longstanding policy at the league’s meetings Wednesday,” the Associated Press reported. “Saying players who go back to college will be ineligible to play in 2026. Vincent said any player who does that would instead become a free agent for the 2027 season.”
Wright signed with the Philadelphia Eagles before being waived on August 10 and claimed by the Cleveland Browns, who released him a day later on August 25. His agent, Drew Rosenhaus, stated before the league’s warning that a college return was “likely to happen.” Harris participated in New Orleans Saints training camp before being placed on the non-football injury list in July and waived on August 8. Both athletes set their sights on reuniting with their former coach, Lane Kiffin, at LSU.
Kiffin publicly defended his program’s aggressive pursuit of the two former NFL players. “They’re going to play for someone else around the country,” Kiffin stated, arguing it was in LSU’s best interest to sign them. His pursuit was quickly met with fierce resistance from top university leadership.
LSU athletics director Verge Ausberry and president Wade Rousse voted to ban former pro players from returning to SEC competition. Rousse did not participate in the vote approving team penalties, which passed unanimously by a 15-0 margin. This vote paved the way for sweeping new rules across the country’s top conferences.
The SEC and Big Ten announced the new rules on Tuesday, under which a player who has been linked to the NFL in any capacity, whether through the Draft, training camp, or being signed and waived by a team, would not be eligible to participate in any of the conference institutions.
The SEC’s penalty structure includes suspension of the head coach for half the season, including a financial penalty involving 50 percent of the sport’s operations budget. The Big Ten includes the same penalty for head coaches but hasn’t defined the financial penalty.
While the rulebook reiterated by the NFL, along with the new rules imposed by several conferences, the NCAA has been involved in a major case of its own, involving players who want to go back to playing college football after becoming free agents.
NCAA faces another battle amidst the NFL ruling out college football ambitions
The SEC and Big Ten announced new restrictions barring any player linked to the NFL through the Draft, camp, or a contract from playing at member institutions. The SEC established a half-season suspension for offending head coaches along with a 50 percent fine on the sport’s operating budget. The Big Ten adopted the same coach suspension while leaving its financial penalties undefined. These strict conference penalties come as the NCAA deals with major eligibility lawsuits in court.
Legal battles surged after the NCAA introduced age-based rules in June granting five years of eligibility to players who began college in 2023. Wright and Harris enrolled in 2022, but a Louisiana judge granted a temporary restraining order forcing the NCAA to place them into the transfer portal. This legal window opened the door for several other NFL roster cuts to seek a collegiate return.
Seattle Seahawks running back Anthony Hankerson, Arizona Cardinals safety Wydett Williams Jr., and Tampa Bay Buccaneers linebacker Jack Pyburn were all granted eligibility if they terminate their NFL deals and “repay any money they have received.”
Multiple athletes have already committed to programs, including Junior Tuihalamaka at LSU, Trent Hendrick at UCLA, Ethan Johnson at South Carolina, and Luke Drzewiecki at New Mexico. The battle over these roster spots will intensify as the 2026 college football season gets underway this fall.