By giving athletes too much leeway on eligibility, the NCAA often gives older athletes too many chances and takes away opportunities for younger high school athletes.
Rules in the NCAA, such as the “four seasons in five years,” only promote this trend of older players staying in college sports for longer. The NCAA’s promotion of this rule allows older players who may have been in college for several years to play a roster sport, potentially reducing opportunities for high school recruits.
This four-season, five-year rule has allowed strategies such as redshirting. Redshirting is a practice that allows players to sit out their freshman year, practice with the team and gain experience alongside upperclassmen.
These redshirts also take up a roster spot even though they don’t actually play throughout the entire season.
They also receive scholarship money for the extra year of school they are enrolled in.
By taking up an additional roster spot without actually playing, the redshirt player takes an opportunity away from another player who may actually participate in games. It is the same situation with scholarship money; as colleges give these players scholarships without requiring them to participate in games, it takes away from scholarship funds that could be given to participating players.
The COVID-19 waiver, similar to the practice of redshirting, allows players to have an additional year of eligibility. While this regulation is beneficial to many players, it has led to instances of college athletes playing six full years in college.
A recent example of this was Carson Beck, currently a quarterback at the University of Miami. Beck has played six seasons, five at Georgia and one with Miami, which was possible through his extended eligibility through the COVID-19 waiver, and by redshirting.
Beck has taken advantage of his situation, not by any fault of his own, but through erroneous rules created by the NCAA.
Another player who has been put in an advantageous position by the NCAA is Stenson Bennet. Bennet has played college football for six years at Georgia.
During this time, he failed to obtain a degree and did not graduate from Georgia, let alone any University.
Bennet was able to play for six years for the same reasons as Beck.
He received one extra year of eligibility by redshirting his freshman year and another year from the COVID-19 waiver.
These rules are designed to benefit college athletes and give them a chance to develop physically. However, these rules are often abused by players and organizations to give older players more time to play within the NCAA.
College players directly benefit from staying in college longer, especially if they have a limited chance of getting drafted to the NFL. The longer these players stay in the NCAA, the longer they can benefit from NIL deals and stay relevant in the eyes of the public.
College athletes having access to NIL deals allows them to essentially monetize themselves through advertisement appearances, social media and products (IRS).
A new rule going into effect next season will allow players to wear patches on their jerseys. This will allow athletes to profit even more from their name by sponsoring whichever brand they choose.
This will inevitably lead to more college athletes remaining in school longer to maximize the money they are making while in college.
The issue does not lie with college eligibility, rather the issue is college athletes trying to stay around longer for money.