College Football Playoff shares stance on ex-NFL players returning to college
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The College Football Playoff is speaking out on the NFL-to-college players issue that is taking over the sport as Week 1 of the 2026 season kicks into high gear.
On Friday afternoon, with the matter continuing to bubble to the surface, especially surrounding LSU‘s path to playing pro players, the CFP issued a statement in support of the separate conferences and their stance on the issue.
The College Football Playoff is supporting the positions and the subsequent rules of those individual conferences regarding the return to college football of NFL players who are trying to benefit from a Louisiana judge ruling on Thursday night that cleared a path for them to use a 5th year of eligibility.
The CFP issued the following statement on the matter on Friday:
The CFP strongly supports the positions and rules of individual conferences concerning the return to college of athletes with professional draft, contract or roster ties. These conference rules are intended to protect the needs, interests and integrity of the sport. The CFP believes that certain clear rules should be followed so that individual institutions fielding FBS football teams know what will be expected of them, and so that the public can have full confidence in the competitive integrity of the sport. Given the ongoing legal proceedings, we will not have further comments on the matter at this time.
While the College Football Playoff spoke out on the NFL-to-college players issue, there will be a national championship trophy to win in late January. Here is what the Kalshi market is currently saying about the best odds to make the 12-team Playoff field come December:
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.
