Don’t ever get too comfortable knowing all the ins and outs involving rules and regulations when it comes to the NCAA — it’s always changing. According to Jon Rothstein with CBS Sports, the NCAA is talking about changing the length of eligibility a student-athlete can have to play in NCAA sports. Currently, you can have four years of eligibility to play as a college athlete — plus redshirts, waivers, etc.
But according to Rothstein, the NCAA is considering upping the number of years someone can play NCAA sports to five years. Meaning, you could play five seasons of college football, basketball, volleyball, etc. Assuming you could still earn a redshirt year, someone could be in college sports for six or seven years — including an injury waiver.
o how does this ultimately impact Michigan?
Let’s look strictly at the football program. Obviously, your J.J. McCarthy‘s and likely Bryce Underwood’s, they aren’t staying for five seasons barring injury issues. However, with today’s NIL and landscape of college football, it could impact those mid-to-late round NFL draft picks. Look at both running backs from this season: Donovan Edwards and Kalel Mullings.
You could make an argument that both of them could return for one more season and potentially boost their draft stock. If Edwards or Mullings came back for another year and rushed for 1,000 yards, maybe they go higher in the 2026 NFL Draft. Granted, the running back life in the NFL isn’t long, but you get what I’m saying.
This news would most certainly impact those players who aren’t a sure-fire NFL hit, but maybe coming back to college for one more season, lighting it up, could make them become that sure-fire draft pick. It will be interesting to watch and see how this unfolds.
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