8. Eligibility: five-year clock, JUCO years, draft age
← All 18 proposals · Outside proposals
Insiders (sourced entries)
Challenger
Diego Pavia (2024 lawsuit over JUCO years).
“If the transfer portal opens before I can complete negotiations with Anchor Impact, I will be trapped between abandoning those negotiations or foregoing possible opportunities with other colleges”
Sued the NCAA over its five-year rule, arguing that JUCO seasons shouldn't count against Division I eligibility; said the transfer portal calendar would trap him if the court didn't act.
Uniform national eligibility rules
Greg Sankey (2026).
No verbatim quote recorded for this entry; summary of the source only.
In his media days address, Sankey laid out the national standards he wants, including health and safety, scholarship protections, oversight of agents, athlete participation in governance, and uniform eligibility and transfer rules.
Older prospects are a problem for the NFL
Eric DeCosta (2026).
“That's because of covid initially, and now because of NIL, guys are getting paid to stay in. That's problematic for us because if guys are coming in older they've probably got less upside.”
Said NIL and extra eligibility are keeping players in college longer, producing older draft prospects with less upside and more injuries; share of Ravens' board aged 24.5+ rose from about 4% to 18%.
NFL draft age
Charley Casserly (2013) would raise the rule to four years out of high school. Albert Breer (2013) said courts won't overturn it. Roger Goodell (2026) defends the rule.
“I am strongly against any player entering the NFL before he's three years removed from high school. In fact, if it was up to me, I'd raise the restriction to four years removed from high school.”
During the Jadeveon Clowney debate, opposed early NFL entry and said he would raise the draft rule from three to four years out of high school.
“The courts will avoid wading into labor law at nearly any cost. The age restriction was collectively bargained, giving the legal system an out in cases like these.”
Said Clowney challenging the three-years rule would be a huge risk, noting the failed suits by Maurice Clarett and Mike Williams and courts' deference to collectively bargained rules.
“We went to court to defend that eligibility rule.”
Goodell defended the NFL's rule that players be three years out of high school, saying it helps players mature and get an education and is good for colleges. He noted the league went to court to protect it (Clarett) and would keep doing so.
College FootballNFL · later