Vanderbilt player pushes for 5th season as redshirt rule challenged
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A federal judge in Nashville is going to rule soon on whether college football players who sued the NCAA can play a fifth year without taking a redshirt season.
The ruling will directly apply to just five football players suing the NCAA, including Vanderbilt University linebacker Langston Patterson, but it will likely have broader effects. When this same judge ruled last year that Vanderbilt University quarterback Diego Pavia was entitled to an extra year of eligibility, the NCAA promptly granted the same treatment to all other former junior college players in a situation like Pavia’s.
U.S. District Judge William Campbell said after a Dec. 15 hearing he didn’t know which way he would rule and didn’t give much indication throughout the hearing. But the clock is ticking on a decision. The players are hoping an injunction allowing them to play in the 2026 season is put in place before the transfer portal opens Jan. 2.
In the four-hour hearing in the Fred D. Thompson U.S. Courthouse and Federal Building, the NCAA and players called competing economists who gave opposing viewpoints on whether the “redshirt rule” violates federal antitrust law.
Here’s a brief explanation of the NCAA’s redshirt rule: College athletes have five years to play four seasons. “Redshirting” allows them to sit out competition for a season but remain on the team, preserving a season of eligibility for a later year.
Ten students in different sports filed a class-action lawsuit in September, saying the rule effectively punishes them for being good at their sport. Lots of talented players don’t take redshirt seasons because they are good enough to play as freshmen. After four years, they're off the team. Meanwhile, their teammates who took redshirt years still have another year to play and, in the new world of college sports, earn money — possibly millions of dollars.
As the economist called by the players, University of San Francisco’s Dan Rascher, put it: The redshirt rule artificially restricts competition by pushing higher quality athletes out of the market.
The NCAA retorts that because football teams can only have 105 athletes on their rosters, giving players a fifth year keeps more high school students out of sports, which for some is their only hope for a college education.
“If you have folks staying in college longer, it means that there are fewer folks every year who can come in and get those opportunities,” said Rakesh Kilaru, an attorney for the NCAA, after the hearing.
This case is just one instance of a nationwide refiguring of college sports in the era of revenue sharing and name, image and likeness payments.
Campbell’s decision in Pavia’s 2024 lawsuit seemed to weigh heavily on him. His ruling to grant an injunction to Pavia, who challenged the NCAA’s eligibility restrictions for former junior college players, caused a shock wave he was cautious of hastily recreating.
“I pulled a lever last year, and we saw what happened there,” Campbell said. “There’s a lot of moving parts here, and one injunction can have a lot of ripple effects.”
The five football players in the lawsuit are the only ones seeking the preliminary injunction right now since the transfer portal is about to open.
Have questions about the justice system? Evan Mealins is the justice reporter for The Tennessean. Contact him with questions, tips or story ideas at emealins@tennessean.com.
This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Vandy football player pushes for 5th season, redshirt rule challenged
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