Clemson notifies LSU of potential ‘breach of contract’ for playing ex-NFL players
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Clemson has told LSU that by playing former NFL players in Saturday night’s showdown it might be breaching the game contract between the ACC and SEC powerhouses.
With both Tigers set to open their 2026 season in Baton Rouge at 7:30 p.m. ET in a nationally televised battle on ABC, Clemson took the step of warning LSU, according to a copy of an email that was obtained by Yahoo Sports on Friday afternoon.
Clemson still intends to go ahead and play the game despite LSU’s possible breach of contract, and Clemson isn’t seeking financial damages amid the controversy.
An email sent Friday afternoon by Clemson general counsel Chip Hood to LSU’s general counsel confirmed that Clemson is planning on being in Baton Rouge to play what is one of Week 1’s biggest games. Amid the cloud of controversy surrounding LSU planning on playing ex-NFL players, Hood has brought up “certain eligibility” issues that could break “contractual obligations between the two parties.”
According to the email that was obtained by Yahoo Sports, those obligations are “not relieved by the ongoing disputes.” Besides Clemson not seeking financial damages, the school is also not pursuing a legal suit against LSU.
But Clemson’s warning to LSU still exists on the eve of the game, with Clemson making clear that it “supports the position of the NCAA and our conferences regarding the eligibility of professional athletes returning to play college sports.”
A Louisiana judge provided a path on Thursday for LSU to formally add NFL players to its roster by granting a group of athletes a preliminary injunction to use a 5th season of college football eligibility.
With outside distractions galore amid the backdrop of a huge Week 1 showdown, here is what the Kalshi market is currently saying about Saturday night’s Clemson-LSU matchup and who’s more likely to come away with the season-opening victory:
Cory Nightingale, a former sportswriter and sports editor at the Miami Herald and Palm Beach Post, is a South Florida-based freelance writer who covers Alabama for SaturdayDownSouth.com.
