Judge ruling allows LSU football to add former NFL players
A Louisiana judge has granted a preliminary injunction allowing former collegiate athletes to join the LSU football team, despite opposition from the SEC and NCAA. The ruling prevents the university from facing penalties for recruiting these players, escalating a legal battle over athlete eligibility.
Why it matters
The case challenges the regulatory power of the NCAA and SEC over athlete movement and professional-to-collegiate transitions.
A group of athletes and attorneys walk into the 19th Judicial Court District on Thursday, September 3, 2026. Staff photos by Javier Gallegos
A Baton Rouge judge granted a group of former collegiate athletes a preliminary injunction Thursday in the lawsuit they filed against the NCAA and the Southeastern Conference, clearing a major hurdle for LSU ’s hopes of scooping up a pair of players who were recently cut from NFL rosters.
The historic ruling, given by Judge William Jorden, applies only to athletes named in the suit. And it comes on a day in which the SEC filed a separate lawsuit in an Alabama federal court against LSU, athletic director Verge Ausberry and coach Lane Kiffin , accusing them of orchestrating the legal saga that produced the injunction on Thursday.
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