College Football Players Challenge NCAA Eligibility Rules Through Lawsuits
The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is facing an increasing number of legal challenges regarding its eligibility rules, with several college football players filing lawsuits to extend their playing careers. These cases often revolve around medical redshirts, the counting of junior college years, and mental health considerations, raising questions about the fairness and consistency of the NCAA's eligibility decisions.
Chandler Morris Seeks Additional Year of Eligibility
Virginia quarterback Chandler Morris has filed a lawsuit against the NCAA, seeking an additional year of eligibility in 2026. Morris, represented by Ben O’Neil and JP Kernisan of Quinn Emanuel law firm, filed the lawsuit in Virginia state court. He is pursuing a medical redshirt for the 2022 season, when he was at TCU and a knee injury impacted his mental health. Morris started the season opener at quarterback before exiting in the third quarter with the injury. He returned in November and played sparingly in three games as a backup to new starter Max Duggan, who helped lead TCU to the national championship game. Morris is seeking to recoup a year of eligibility on mental health grounds, claiming there was sufficient mental health documentation submitted to the NCAA along with his eligibility waiver.
The Texas native has played for four schools over six seasons. Morris started his career at Oklahoma in 2020, which did not count against his eligibility clock due to the COVID-19 exemption giving players an extra season. He spent three seasons at TCU, including a redshirt season in 2021. After being limited by injury in 2022, he appeared in seven games with six starts for the Horned Frogs in 2023, then transferred to North Texas in 2024, where he started all season and threw for a career-high 3,774 yards and 31 touchdowns. In his lone season with the Cavaliers in 2025, Morris threw for 3,000 yards and contributed 21 total touchdowns, leading Virginia to an 11-3 record, the most wins in program history, including a trip to the ACC championship and a top-20 finish in the final rankings.
Morris, 25, is the son of former SMU and Arkansas head coach Chad Morris, who is currently the offensive coordinator at Clemson. Virginia signed former Missouri quarterback Beau Pribula out of the transfer portal for the 2026 season.
The Trend of Quarterbacks Suing for Eligibility
Morris's case is part of a growing trend of quarterbacks challenging the NCAA's eligibility rules through legal action. Vanderbilt’s Diego Pavia started the trend in 2024, suing to have his years at a junior college not count against his eligibility clock. While that case has not even had a trial date set, Pavia was granted a preliminary injunction by a federal judge in Tennessee that allowed him to play last season for Vandy. Earlier this month, Ole Miss quarterback Trinidad Chambliss was granted an injunction by a Mississippi judge that cleared him to return in 2026. Chambliss challenged the NCAA’s denial to grant him a medical hardship for one of the seasons he did not play at Division II Ferris State before he transferred to Ole Miss in 2025.
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However, the NCAA has also had some victories in these legal battles. Last week, a judge in Tennessee denied Volunteers quarterback Joey Aguilar an injunction that would have paved the way for him to play a sixth season of college football. Chandler Morris, like Aguilar, is not considered a potential early-round draft pick. Aguilar argued in his lawsuit that he was set to make more than $2 million if he could return to Tennessee. Morris would likely land a deal of at least that much from a college team.
Owen Heinecke's Denied Appeal and the Frustration of Sooner Nation
Shortly after the Oklahoma Sooners received the news that the NCAA denied linebacker Owen Heinecke's appeal for a sixth season of collegiate eligibility, they saw a former quarterback take another step in his fight for a seventh year of eligibility. Heinecke registered 74 tackles, four passes defended, three sacks and one forced fumble in his first significant college football action. He became a starter at inside linebacker during OU's "Red November" run to the College Football Playoff, and he never looked back. He was a big piece of Oklahoma's defensive success.
Heinecke is taking part in the NFL scouting combine this week, and he spoke briefly about his situation on Wednesday morning in Indianapolis. With the NCAA twice denying him the chance to play in 2026, it's up to Heinecke whether he wants to take the legal route or if he wants to focus on the upcoming NFL draft. However, it seems pretty unlikely that he'll be back in Norman next season.
"I really only started this past year as a linebacker for Oklahoma," Heinecke said. "I wanted to keep all my options open. One of those options was possibly going back for another year and not using my year at Ohio State lacrosse as a year toward football, so just trying to keep all my options open … Really leaning on family and the Lord for which direction is right for me. That got denied, and I'm excited to make the next steps."
As it stands, the Sooners will not have Heinecke on the roster in 2026, and Heinecke is likely to be drafted in April after his standout season a year ago. Though Oklahoma will miss Heinecke at inside linebacker next season, it will return Kip Lewis and brought in Cole Sullivan from Michigan in the transfer portal. They'll likely be the starting duo on the inside to open the 2026 season.
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OU's roster has come together nicely for the upcoming season, as the program looks to make a return trip to the playoff.
Tatuo Martinson's Antitrust Lawsuit and the Five-Year Rule
Former University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV) football player Tatuo Martinson is the latest NCAA athlete to successfully convince a federal district court to enjoin the NCAA from enforcing its “five-year eligibility rule” against a former junior college (JUCO) athlete. Martinson’s lawsuit challenges the NCAA’s “five-year rule,” which limits athletes to five years to complete four seasons of athletic competition.
The decision from Judge Richard F. District Court for the District of Nevada grants a preliminary injunction in favor of Martinson, allowing him to play another season despite the NCAA’s five-year rule. Judge Boulware held that NCAA eligibility restrictions are subject to antitrust scrutiny because they operate within a commercial context, given athletes’ ability to receive compensation, and hence fall within the scope of the Antitrust Act.
Judge Boulware departed from Ninth Circuit precedent in O’Bannon v. National Collegiate Athletic Association, 802 F.3d 1049 (9th Cir. 2015), and Supreme Court precedent in National Collegiate Athletic Association v. 69 (2021), because those analyses did not account for today’s name, image, and likeness (NIL) compensation landscape or the fact that NCAA institutions can now directly pay student-athletes. Judge Boulware also found Martinson likely to succeed on the merits of his antitrust claims, accepting the definition of two relevant markets: the input labor market (college athletes) and the output product (college sporting events).
Judge Boulware’s decision marks a significant development in the ongoing legal battles over NCAA eligibility rules. By recognizing the commercial nature of college athletics in the NIL era, the court has set the stage for further antitrust scrutiny of NCAA regulations.
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Other Cases Involving Eligibility Disputes
Several other college athletes have recently sued the NCAA over eligibility issues, including Jimmori Robinson, Jeffrey Weimer, Tye Edwards, Justin Harrington, Cortez Braham Jr., and Coley. These cases highlight the diverse range of circumstances that can lead to eligibility disputes, from disagreements over medical redshirts to challenges to the NCAA's rules regarding junior college transfers.
Former University of Memphis wide receiver Cortez Braham Jr. and former San Diego State University defensive lineman Tatuo Martinson also sued for their eligibility and played the 2025 season under an injunction.
The "Draconian" Nature of NCAA Eligibility Rules
Boise State University assistant professor Sam Ehrlich has described the NCAA's eligibility rules as "draconian." His sentiment reflects a growing concern that the NCAA's regulations are often inflexible and fail to account for the individual circumstances of student-athletes.
Moore transferred to Indiana following the 2024 season with the intention to play his final year with the Hoosiers. Moore began his collegiate career at Navarro Community College from 2019-21, and the NCAA attempted to count his junior college years against his NCAA eligibility. The NCAA argued Braham’s case was not moot, and specifically that being prevented from enforcing the “rule of restitution” was reason to keep it going. In a Feb. “The appellate courts are going to have to rule on the merits,” Ehrlich said. Nathan Shriberg covers Indiana men’s basketball and sports business/legal matters for the Indiana Daily Student.
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