The Big Ten Conference has formally taken the lead in banning former NFL players from playing football for members of the league.
On Tuesday afternoon the conference put out a statement.
“The Big Ten Conference announced Tuesday the unanimous adoption of a conference rule to prohibit football players who have signed a professional contract, were on a professional roster at any point or declared for the NFL Draft as an underclassman without withdrawing, from maintaining eligibility for athletic competition at a conference institution.
“The conference continues to evaluate potential rules restricting professional athletes in other sports from conference competition.”
CBS is reporting the head coach of any team that plays an NFL player will be suspended for half the season, and the school will be fined.
These rules should have no impact on the ongoing efforts by defensive ends Stephen Daley and Kellan Wyatt to play for the Hoosiers in 2026. Neither player fits any of the criteria for prohibition.
The final sentence in the Big Ten statement at least leaves open the possibility the league could prohibit basketball players on NBA Summer League contracts such as Sam Alexis, who intends to play for the Hoosiers in 2026-27.
The efforts by Daley, Wyatt and Alexis to play a fifth season of college sports stems from the NCAA’s passage of a new five-year eligibility rule this summer. The rules does not apply to the trio, who were all members of the class of 2022 and exhausted their eligibility in four seasons. Each has been covered by a wave of court injunctions that attempt apply the five-year rule to members of the class of 2022.
The new Big Ten rules come in the wake of several players departing NFL training camps and signing with college teams.
The SEC on Monday issued a statement emphasizing its belief that athletes who choose to leave college athletics and sign professional contracts “should not then be permitted to return to college competition,” but the league has not yet issued an outright ban of such players.
LSU has received commitments from former Ole Miss players Dae’Quan Wright and Zxavian Harris, both of whom were waived after spending time in NFL training camps. Both players were on the Ole Miss team that went to the College Football Playoff semifinals a year ago.
SEC officials are meeting this week.
The Big 12 and ACC have not yet formally established any rules on this matter.
