© Jayne Kamin-Oncea/Imagn
When Vanderbilt quarterback Diego Pavia successfully sued the NCAA for an extra year of eligibility due to time spent at the junior college level, it opened a Pandora’s box. Pavia’s legal team successfully argued that because he was not able to earn NIL income while in junior college, the NCAA unfairly and illegally limited his earning potential.
At the time, noted sports law expert Michael McCann tweeted that the ruling could be a huge step toward eliminating eligibility limits altogether. As long as athletes are enrolled in college, the NCAA could theoretically be barred from limiting them from competing due to age or years spent in college because it would illegally restrict their earning potential. Now it appears that has come to fruition.
Sounds like a federal judge in NJ is strongly considering granting a preliminary injunction that would prohibit the NCAA from enforcing its 5 year eligibility rule.
We’ll find out next week.
This case seeks to address an issue the NCAA skirted in its Pavia waiver. https://t.co/PnqR8GAXHy pic.twitter.com/Yqx6Mhkc0V
— Mit Winter (@WinterSportsLaw) April 18, 2025
Rutgers Safety Sues NCAA Claiming Antitrust Violations And Breach Of Contract
United States Distirct Judge Zahid N. Quirashi is currently presiding a case involving Rutgers safety transfer Jett Elad. Elad began his career at Ohio University before transferring to Garden City Community College and then UNLV and eventually Rutgers. He was deemed ineligible to play due to the five-year rolling clock rule, having begun play in 2019-2020 when he redshirted for the Bobcats.
Elad’s complaint alleges antitrust violations, breach of contract, and breach of implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing claims. He argues that the NCAA’s conduct toward him violates federal antitrust laws because it has “substantial anticompetitive effects on two-year or junior colleges and universities that that are excluded from NCAA membership.”
Rutgers head coach Greg Schiano tested on his behalf on Friday. Maybe Elad wins his case. There certainly appears to be some standing. And that would be huge for him. But Schiano seems to risk cutting off his nose to spite his face. College football, and college athletics as a whole, appear to be built upon a house of cards at the moment.
Each successive court case is pulling a card out of the equation and it doesn’t seem like it’ll be long before it all comes crashing down.