NFL to NCAA? Courtroom chaos Is giving pro athletes a bizarre path back to college, and it's only just begun

Dan Dakich torches the NCAA for suspending Tennessee linebacker Arion Carter for a plane ticket.

Just as the college football season is set to begin next weekend, there has been an influx of NFL players being given the chance to enter the transfer portal in hopes of joining a college roster over the next few weeks.

Are you confused or baffled by any of that?

Trust me, you aren’t alone.

But thanks to one particular ruling in Louisiana this week, players who have at least signed some type of contract with an NFL team now have the opportunity to return for an additional season at the collegiate level.

NCAA IGNORED THE WARNINGS. NOW IT'S FIGHTING FOR SURVIVAL IN COURTROOMS ACROSS AMERICA OVER ELIGIBILITY

While most, if not all, of this sounds absurd right now, it can be traced back to the NCAA establishing new eligibility guidelines that afford athletes five years to play five seasons of college sports.

What we're seeing play out in courtrooms across the country centers on the NCAA's decision not to include the 2022 class under its new rules. That left players declaring for professional drafts under the impression that they had exhausted their collegiate eligibility, which they technically had under the old rules.

Brady Cook of the New York Jets is tackled by Jack Pyburn of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the fourth quarter at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J., on Aug. 14, 2026. (Getty Images)

On Thursday, former Ole Miss tight end Dae'Quan Wright reportedly created a first, of many to come, in college football: He entered the NCAA transfer portal while under contract with an NFL team.

Wright is currently participating in training camp with the Cleveland Browns after initially signing a free-agent contract with the