When DC Defenders wide receiver Jaydon Mickens takes the field for the 2025 UFL championship game, he will be the oldest player on the field.

‘That’s crazy,’ the 31-year-old told USA TODAY with a laugh after being informed of that fact. ‘I remember being the youngest.’

Indeed, Mickens broke into the NFL as a 22-year-old after going undrafted out of Washington in 2016. He latched on with the Oakland Raiders to begin an NFL odyssey that spanned six teams over eight seasons.

The NFL calls stopped coming for Mickens after his 2023 stints with the New York Giants and Indianapolis Colts. While some would have walked away from the game at that point, Mickens decided to go to the UFL.

‘I always knew I can keep playing,’ Mickens said when asked about joining the UFL. ‘I still have a lot of juice, and I still have a love for the game.”

‘For me, it’s just loving the game and appreciating the camaraderie and appreciating the structure and building chemistry with a lot of great players,’ he added.

Mickens’ comments highlight a common sentiment among UFL players. Most are hoping to eventually land NFL opportunities, whether it’s for the first time or the umpteenth.

But above all, they are grateful for everything the spring league provides.

Bryce Perkins

For Michigan Panthers quarterback Bryce Perkins, the UFL has provided a needed opportunity to get live game reps.

‘It gets you in the feel of playing again,’ Perkins said of the UFL. ‘It lets you sharpen things that you may not necessarily know you need to sharpen depending on the situation you’re in in the NFL.’

Perkins previously had a three-year stint with the Los Angeles Rams after going undrafted out of Virginia in 2020. He learned a great deal in Sean McVay’s system and credited his observations of Jared Goff and Matthew Stafford for teaching him how to prepare for games.

Even so, Perkins acknowledged it wasn’t easy to prove himself on the field after getting just one start during his three seasons as a third-string quarterback.

‘There’s a lot of things that throughout the two years before I played that you don’t even know that’s going to show up until it shows up,’ Perkins said. ‘Being able to play in this league (the UFL) allows you to play well and play ball.’

Jordan Ta’amu

Like Perkins, Defenders quarterback Jordan Ta’amu is playing for the love of the game. That said, he is also happy earning money to play.

‘I do not want to work in the real world,’ Ta’amu told USA TODAY. ‘And I just think what better way to work and to do what you love and play football for fun and also get paid for it?’

That’s one of the main reasons Ta’amu hopes to get another NFL chance. He relishes the financial security that comes with playing in the top professional league, where the minimum contract value for 2025 is $840,000 and practice squad players make $12,000 per week. By comparison, the UFL has a minimum salary of $62,005 for the 2025 season.

But even if Ta’amu can’t make it back to the NFL, the 27-year-old is happy to have spring football – which he has been a part of for five seasons in the XFL, USFL and now the UFL – as an option.

‘I want to keep playing football until someone tells me no,’ Ta’amu said. ‘If it’s in the spring league, if it’s in the NFL, I just want to keep playing because we don’t get a lot of opportunities like this.’

Toa Taua

Panthers running back Toa Taua knows how hard it is to make it professionally. He found himself cut by Michigan at both the start of the 2024 and 2025 UFL seasons. He only returned to the Panthers after some early-season running back injuries but has since blossomed into one of the league’s best backs.

Before returning to the UFL, Taua worked two jobs – one by day at a golf course and another at night at a 24-hour Planet Fitness. All the while, he attempted to stay ready to play and occasionally snuck in a mid-shift workout at the gym.

While Taua enjoyed both of his jobs, he acknowledged that they didn’t bring nearly the same level of camaraderie he experienced on the field. That has led him to cherish the bonds formed with his Panthers teammates on and off the field, including during barbecue sessions with his housemates, Kai Nacua, Samson Nacua, Mika Tafua and Javin White.

‘After you’re done playing sports, you don’t get those moments too much,’ Taua said. ‘So, just being around the guys and making memories with the boys is everything.’

Jaydon Mickens

Most players understand the mortality referenced by Taua. There will come a time when they are no longer able to suit up, whether it’s due to age, injury or it simply becomes financially unsustainable.

Even so, it isn’t stopping players like Mickens from continuing to play. The 31-year-old insists he isn’t too old to make it back to the NFL and finally get a chance to show his worth not just as a return man but also as a receiver.

‘I’m still getting better at my routes,” Mickens said. ‘I’m getting better at returning punts. I’m still growing as a player at 31 years old, and I’m getting faster, I’m getting stronger, I’m out-running people, I’m making catches.’

Will Mickens’ improvements be enough for him to get another chance in the NFL? He isn’t sure.

But even if not, he is content with where his football career has taken him.

‘There’s nothing I’m actually chasing,’ Mickens said. ‘There’s no dream that I haven’t already accomplished, and everything I’ve done has been tremendous in my book.’

Dabo Swinney’s done it. Clemson’s transfer-averse coach built a team that looks poised to thrive in this transfer-fueled era.
Cade Klubnik gives Clemson a proven quarterback. Dabo Swinney thrives when he has his best quarterbacks.
Clemson leads nation in returning production, according to an ESPN metric.

The transfer-averse coach built a team that sure looks poised to thrive in this transfer-fueled era.

Sportsbooks are snoozing on Clemson, but the stat nerds are wide awake.

Betting sharps probably noticed this nugget, though, from ESPN’s analytics guru Bill Connelly: Clemson returns more production than any other team, according to Connelly’s metrics. His analysis accounts for inbound transfers – not that Clemson features many.

Clemson’s veteran, talented roster reminds me a bit of Swinney’s teams from a heyday when he won two national championships in three years behind proven quarterbacks, talented wide receivers and stingy defenses.

While many of Swinney’s peers play the transfer sweepstakes, he persists with a recruit, develop and retain methodology.

“I’m not against the portal, but … this is not a catch-and-release program,” Swinney said earlier this offseason on “The Unafraid Show” podcast. “This is not a place where we’re going to run guys off.

“We know exactly what we’re looking for. We’re unique, and we’re different in our approach.’

WHO DOES 16 HELP?: The teams that would benefit from playoff expansion

A year ago, I thought Swinney erred by not supplementing Clemson’s young roster with some transfers. Swinney could stand to be more active in cracking Clemson’s door to high-impact transfers, but he deserves credit for keeping his top talent out of the portal.

Clemson’s best performers returned from last year’s team that won the ACC after a rocky start.

Now that Swinney is armed with a more seasoned roster, his adherence to the develop-and-retain approach seems poised to pay off, though we’ll gain more data after Clemson hosts LSU in Week 1.

Cade Klubnik headlines Clemson’s returning production

Connelly’s returning production metrics prove useful in identifying teams poised to break out. Before the 2023 season, his metric ranked Florida State, Missouri and Michigan among the nation’s returning production leaders.

Michigan won the national championship. Florida State finished 13-1. Missouri, unranked in the preseason polls, won 11 games for the first time in nearly a decade.

I don’t need analytics, though, to tell me the value of a solid quarterback. Cade Klubnik fits that billing.

There were times the past two seasons when Klubnik didn’t look the part of a five-star recruit. His performance bottomed out in the 2024 season-opening loss to Georgia. He rebounded, and he peaked at the season’s crescendo, starring in Clemson’s ACC championship win against SMU and playing well in a playoff defeat to Texas.

“I’m kind of the epitome of the word development,” Klubnik told reporters earlier this offseason.

Indeed. NFL draft experts project Klubnik to be among several Clemson first-round prospects for 2026.

Goodness, Dabo Swinney even added transfers

When Swinney has had a good quarterback, he wins big. He won a Peach Bowl and then an Orange Bowl with Tajh Boyd, Clemson’s all-time passing leader. Deshaun Watson and Trevor Lawrence produced national championships.

It’s unfair to compare Klubnik to either Watson or Lawrence, but Swinney’s past peaks make it notable that he’s got a good quarterback again, and weapons surround Klubnik. That, too, is a throwback to Swinney’s pinnacle, when Clemson put defenses into conflict with receivers like Mike Williams, Hunter Renfrow, Tee Higgins and Justyn Ross.

Clemson returns its top three receivers. Oh, and it added transfer Tristan Smith, who caught 76 passes for Southeast Missouri State in the Championship Subdivision last season.

That’s right, Swinney signed not one, not two, but three impact transfers. If Clemson vies for glory, you’ll be force-fed the narrative that Swinney persevered after refusing to bend the knee to the portal. It’s true he views the portal with caution, but it’s also true he added three more transfers this offseason than he did the previous offseason. Those acquisitions help elevate Clemson’s ceiling after it suffered four losses in consecutive seasons.  

A year ago, Clemson’s wide receivers were young and unproven. Now, Smith joins a position filled with established targets, led by Antonio Williams and his 153 career receptions.

As Swinney put it, Clemson touts “six dudes” at wide receiver.

Clemson’s list of ‘dudes’ – the industry’s code word for NFL talent – also includes defensive linemen Peter Woods, T.J. Parker and transfer Will Heldt. You need multiple ‘dudes’ to win a national championship. Clemson could do that. It’s probably the only team from its conference that can.

Oddsmakers and stat nerds agree on that much. No other ACC team ranks in oddsmakers’ top 10 favorites to win the national championship. No other ACC team ranks in Connelly’s top 15 for returning production.

Clemson’s downturn these past few seasons could be partially attributed to Swinney’s stubbornness and his reluctance to evolve. If the Tigers ignite behind this talented roster, that will remind us of Swinney’s best side – his ability to develop and retain talent at a level few coaches can.

Blake Toppmeyer is the USA TODAY Network’s national college football columnist. Email him at BToppmeyer@gannett.com and follow him on X @btoppmeyer.

Michigan Panthers quarterbacks Bryce Perkins and Danny Etling are looking to lead Michigan to its first spring-league championship since the team was reborn as part of the 2022 USFL reboot.

Both players are drawing upon their experience winning at the highest level as they look to take down the DC Defenders.

Perkins and Etling both enjoyed multi-year NFL careers during which they were part of Super Bowl-winning teams. Etling’s title came during his rookie season with the New England Patriots in 2018 while Perkins’ came in his second season with the Los Angeles Rams in 2021.

While neither Perkins nor Etling played in the respective Super Bowls their team won, each explained that being part of a championship winner has helped them in their quest for a UFL championship.

‘It allows you to understand what it takes to keep playing on after the regular season,’ Perkins told USA TODAY. ‘Keep playing in the playoffs.’

What Bryce Perkins learned from Rams Super Bowl

The UFL playoffs are different in structure from the NFL’s. Teams need to win two games in the UFL postseason to take home a championship while NFL squads need at least three victories to hoist the Lombardi Trophy.

However, the UFL’s schedule ensures that teams meeting in each conference championship are playing each other for a third time.

That challenge is something Perkins learned a lot about with the Rams. Los Angeles played the San Francisco 49ers three times – twice in the regular season and in the NFC championship game – on their path to winning Super Bowl 56.

The Rams lost both of their regular-season games to the 49ers before beating them in the playoffs. The Panthers did the same against the Birmingham Stallions during the 2025 UFL season, losing twice to their rival before earning a 44-29 win in the USFL Conference championship game.

Perkins’ experience with the Rams gave him confidence he could help the Panthers figure out a way to beat the Stallions.

‘(You) kind of understand how to play your opponent and how to really just keep executing on the things that you think you may notice,’ Perkins said of a third matchup. ‘Just a dedication in the execution level that it takes to go and perform as it gets late in the season.’

In Perkins’ opinion, executing required the Panthers to win the one-on-one battles and be the aggressor. He felt they were able to achieve that in earning coach Mike Nolan his first win over the Stallions in his seventh try.

‘No matter who it was, it was going to be sweet, because it’s a testament to how hard we work and the progression we’ve made throughout the year getting better and better,’ Perkins said of beating Birmingham in the USFL Conference championship.

What Danny Etling learned from Patriots Super Bowl

Progression was a key theme Etling witnessed in his championship season with the Patriots.

‘My championship with the Patriots was all about peaking at the right time, getting the timely wins, learning about our team,’ Etling said. ‘We had all types of issues early on in the year.’

New England got off to a rocky 1-2 start to the 2018 season with road losses to the Jacksonville Jaguars and Detroit Lions. The Patriots came under fire for their shortcomings, with Etling noting the team’s defense having a particularly troubling start to the season.

However, Bill Belichick’s unit enjoyed a strong midseason turnaround and managed to scrape together an 11-5 record. They ultimately performed well in the postseason and held the Rams to just three points in Super Bowl 53, tying the Miami Dolphins’ record-low scoring output in Super Bowl 6.

Witnessing that about-face gave Etling a conclusion he has carried with him throughout his professional career.

‘It doesn’t really matter how you start the season,’ Etling said. ‘It’s all about how you finish. It’s all about the improvement you make throughout the year.’

Etling believes the Panthers have put those marginal improvements on display throughout the 2025 UFL season. In particular, they were clearly visible in each of the games leading up to their big win over the Stallions.

Now, Michigan will try to continue to make minor tweaks as Perkins and Etling look to add another championship to their respective ledgers.

‘Just the little changes we make and the failures along the way throughout the season, they only make it better,’ Etling said, describing the Panthers’ run to the UFL championship game. ‘It’s all culminating to this Saturday, and making sure that you go out and execute and learn from those mistakes. That’s been what our season’s been about.’

Before the collegiate sports calendar reaches its increasingly short summer hiatus, we put the bow on the 2024-25 academic year with the final NCAA championship event, the College World Series in Omaha, Nebraska.

Those who look forward to this event on an annual basis are already familiar with the format. But for the uninitiated, the eight participants are split into four-team mini brackets who will compete in a double-elimination tournament similar to the earlier regionals. The two winners from each quartet will then meet in the best-of-three championship series starting next weekend.

This year’s field looks completely different than last year’s. All eight teams are new and just three of the eight national seeds made it through the super regionals. It shapes up to be a wild week where a national champion is determined.

Here’s a look at the matchups and schedule for the first day of games:

No. 13 Coastal Carolina (53-11) vs. Arizona (44-19)

TIME/TV: Friday, 2 p.m. ET, ESPN

Given the impressive numbers posted by its pitching staff, Coastal Carolina was perhaps underseeded at No. 13. The Chanticleers lead the CWS field in team ERA (3.21) and WHIP (1.19). Jacob Morrison and Cameron Flukey anchor the starting rotation, with closer Ryan Lynch leading an equally reliable relief crew. Coastal is also the hottest team in the field with a 23-game winning streak.

The Wildcats followed a similar blueprint to the Big 12 championship, surrendering few free passes and committing just 51 errors in the field all season. They do give up their share of hits, however, but excellent contact hitters like Mason White and Aaron Walton keep them in most games.

CWS FIELD: Ranking the eight teams fighting for title in Omaha

DIVERSE FIELD: College World Series highlights best of college sports

No. 8 Oregon State (47-14-1) vs. Louisville (40-22)

TIME/TV: Friday, 7 p.m. ET, ESPN

The Beavers are as fundamentally sound as they come, entering the CWS with a healthy .409 on-base percentage and just 40 errors committed. They can mash a bit as well, as demonstrated by the home-run cycle they unleashed against Florida State in the clinching super regional contest. Aiva Arquette and Gavin Turley are usually involved in innings when a crooked number is posted.

The Cardinals finished in the middle of the crowded ACC pack but are now the league’s sole representative in Omaha. They don’t always get consistent results from the mound, but they steal more bases (155) than anyone else in the field. Lucas Moore and Zion Rose are the top thieves, with Eddie King Jr. often tasked with bringing them home.

This was supposed to be a deciding NBA Finals victory for the Oklahoma City Thunder. Or so many experts predicted.

The Thunder, the No. 1 overall seed after a 68-win season, are quick, play a suffocating defense and have the league MVP in Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. The Indiana Pacers, who upset the No. 1 seed in the East in Cleveland — albeit playing without some of its stars because of injuries — and squeaked by the New York Knicks on come-from-behind victories, were not seen as the complete package. Still a year or two away.

Well, the Pacers are ready now. They’re two wins from the franchise’s first NBA championship with Game 4 on Friday, June 13, at 8:30 p.m. ET (ABC) in Gainbridge Fieldhouse.

USA TODAY Sports’ experts make their NBA Finals Game 4 picks for Oklahoma City Thunder at Indiana Pacers:

NBA Finals Game 4 picks

Scooby Axson: Pacers 118, Thunder 108
Cydney Henderson: Thunder 108, Pacers 106
Jordan Mendoza: Thunder 109, Pacers 102
Lorenzo Reyes: Thunder 106, Pacers 97
Heather Tucker: Thunder 103, Pacers 90
James Williams: Pacers 110, Thunder 104
Jeff Zillgitt: Thunder 111, Pacers 99

NBA Finals 2025: Full schedule, times, TV channel, live streaming

All times Eastern. *-if necessary

(Indiana leads series 2-1)

Game 1: Pacers 111, Thunder 110
Game 2: Thunder 123, Pacers 107
Game 3: Pacers 116, Thunder 107
Game 4, June 13: Thunder at Pacers | ABC, Fubo | 8:30 p.m.
Game 5, June 16: Pacers at Thunder | ABC, Fubo | 8:30 p.m.
Game 6, June 19: Thunder at Pacers | ABC, Fubo | 8:30 p.m.*
Game 7, June 22: Pacers at Thunder | ABC, Fubo | 8 p.m.*

OMAHA, Neb. ― The 2025 College World Series is set to get underway June 13 with the first set of four teams. Arizona and Coastal Carolina will face off in the early matchup (2 p.m. ET, ESPN) and Louisville will face Oregon State in the nightcap (7 p.m. ET, ESPN) at Charles Schwab Field in Omaha.

In the College World Series, eight teams face off in two double-elimination brackets, with teams getting eliminated once they have lost twice. The winners of each individual bracket face off in a best-of-three championship series to determine the national champion.

Here are our predictions and picks for the first day of games:

Arizona vs Coastal Carolina

The Wildcats and Chanticleers are the two most pitching-focused teams in Omaha. Both are very strong on the mound but lack offensive firepower. Because of that, I’m rolling with the team whose pitching is just a bit better, and that’s Coastal Carolina.

Pick: Coastal Carolina 3, Arizona 1

Louisville vs. Oregon State

This is a fun matchup of stylistically different teams. The Beavers hit a lot of home runs and draw a lot of walks while avoiding small ball. The Cardinals love to steal bases and rarely strike out.

Although Oregon State has been the better team, this isn’t a good matchup for the Beavers, whose defense lags behind the other teams in Omaha this season. Louisville could take advantage.

Pick: Louisville 5, Oregon State 4

Aria Gerson covers Vanderbilt athletics for The Tennessean. Contact her at agerson@gannett.com or on X @aria_gerson.

For the first time since mid-May, the Formula 1 grid enjoyed a week away from the track. A triple-header with races in Italy, Monaco and Spain in three weeks certainly provided a lot of action for fans to enjoy.

The Spanish Grand Prix featured updated regulations regarding flexible wings. Teams across the paddock were anticipating changes to the order as the series tightened the rules on how much front wings could flex. Things didn’t change much, though, as McLaren continued its dominant run in 2025 with Oscar Piastri earning his fifth win in the first nine races.

The week off allowed teams to make the trek across the Atlantic Ocean from Spain to Montreal for the Canadian Grand Prix.

This race has a reputation as one of the more exciting events on the calendar. The 2011 Canadian Grand Prix featured six safety car periods and took slightly over four hours to complete, but Jenson Button won it on the final lap. More recently, last year’s race featured mixed conditions as Red Bull’s Max Verstappen, Mercedes’ George Russell and McLaren’s Lando Norris all battled for victory on a drying track.

Piastri and Norris combined for six pole positions and and seven wins out of the first nine races. Can they continue this run in Montreal? Here’s everything you need to know about the Canadian Grand Prix.

What time does the Canadian Grand Prix start?

The Canadian Grand Prix starts at 2 p.m. ET at the Circuit Gilles Villenueve in Montreal.

The track is named for Canadian F1 driver Gilles Villenueve who raced for McLaren and Ferrari in the late 1970s and early 1980s.

What channel is the Canadian Grand Prix on?

The Canadian Grand Prix will be broadcast on ABC this week. Pre-race coverage begins on ABC at 12:30 p.m. ET.

Canadian Grand Prix: Weekend schedule, TV, streaming

Here is the full weekend schedule for the Canadian Grand Prix, including how to watch all the practices, qualifying and the race:

F1 schedule — Friday, June 13

∎ Free practice 1

Time: 1:30 p.m. ET
TV: ESPNU
Streaming: Fubo, ESPN+, F1TV

∎ Free practice 2

Time: 5 p.m. ET
TV: ESPNU
Streaming: Fubo, ESPN+, F1TV

F1 schedule — Saturday, June 14

∎ Free practice 3

Time: 12:30 p.m. ET
TV: ESPN2
Streaming: Fubo, ESPN+, F1TV

∎ Qualifying

Time: 4 p.m. ET
TV: ESPN2
Streaming: Fubo, ESPN+, F1TV

F1 schedule — Sunday, June 15

∎ Canadian Grand Prix

Time: 2 p.m. ET
TV: ABC
Streaming: Fubo, ESPN+, F1TV

Stream Canadian Grand Prix, 2025 Formula 1 races on Fubo

2025 Formula 1 schedule, recap

Here’s a list of each Grand Prix race with the winner, if applicable:

Australian Grand Prix (March 2): Lando Norris, McLaren
Chinese Grand Prix (March 9): Oscar Piastri, McLaren
Japanese Grand Prix (April 6): Max Verstappen, Red Bull
Bahrain Grand Prix (April 13): Oscar Piastri, McLaren
Saudi Arabian Grand Prix (April 20): Oscar Piastri, McLaren
Miami Grand Prix (May 4): Oscar Piastri, McLaren
Emilia Romagna Grand Prix (May 18): Max Verstappen, Red Bull
Monaco Grand Prix (May 25): Lando Norris, McLaren
Spanish Grand Prix (June 1): Oscar Piastri, McLaren
Canadian Grand Prix: June 15
Austrian Grand Prix: June 29
British Grand Prix: July 6
Belgian Grand Prix: July 27
Hungarian Grand Prix: Aug. 3
Dutch Grand Prix: Aug. 31
Italian Grand Prix: Sept. 7
Azerbaijan Grand Prix: Sept. 21
Singapore Grand Prix: Oct. 5
United States Grand Prix: Oct. 19
Mexico City Grand Prix: Oct. 26
São Paulo Grand Prix: Nov. 9
Las Vegas Grand Prix: Nov. 22
Qatar Grand Prix: Nov. 30
Abu Dhabi Grand Prix: Dec. 7

Formula 1 drivers’ standings

(Through Spanish Grand Prix on June 1)

Oscar Piastri, McLaren: 186 points
Lando Norris, McLaren: 176
Max Verstappen, Red Bull: 137
George Russell, Mercedes: 111
Charles Leclerc, Ferrari: 94
Lewis Hamilton, Ferrari: 71
Andrea Kimi Antonelli, Mercedes: 48
Alex Albon, Williams: 42
Isack Hadjar, Racing Bulls: 21
Esteban Ocon, Haas: 20
Nico Hülkenberg, Sauber: 16
Lance Stroll, Aston Martin: 14
Carlos Sainz Jr., Williams: 12
Pierre Gasly, Alpine: 11
Yuki Tsunoda, Red Bull: 10
Oliver Bearman, Haas: 6
Liam Lawson, Racing Bulls: 4
Fernando Alonso, Aston Martin: 2
Gabriel Bortoleto, Sauber: 0
Franco Colapinto, Alpine: 0

Formula 1 constructors’ standings

(Through Spanish Grand Prix on June 1)

McLaren: 362 points
Ferrari: 165
Mercedes: 159
Red Bull: 144
Williams: 54
Racing Bulls: 28
Haas: 26
Sauber: 16
Aston Martin: 16
Alpine: 11

The biggest stories, every morning. Stay up-to-date on all the key sports developments by subscribing to USA TODAY Sports’ newsletter.

Katherine Crytzer, a 41-year-old federal judge appointed by President Trump to serve on the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Tennessee, saved the college sports world a huge headache on Thursday. By denying an injunction that could have granted former Tennessee basketball star Zakai Zeigler a fifth year of eligibility, thus opening the floodgates on athletes potentially earning NIL money far beyond their college lifespan, the NCAA’s ability to enforce its four-year rule seems somewhat safe – for now. 

“This Court is a court of law, not policy,” she wrote. “What the NCAA should do as a policy matter to benefit student athletes is beyond the reach of the Sherman Act and (Tennessee law) and by extension, this Court.”

But Zeigler’s petition should set off major alarm bells for this new world of college sports – not because he filed it (which is his right as an American), but because Tennessee’s athletic department seemed to support an idea that would spark the kind of chaos power-conference schools have spent months trying to fix.  

On Saturday, one day after Judge Claudia Wilken approved the landmark House vs. NCAA settlement, Tennessee’s senior deputy athletics director/chief revenue officer Ryan Alpert filed an affidavit telling Judge Crytzer that Zeigler would have a “guaranteed spot” on its 2025-26 basketball team, which would of course also mean a large NIL payment coming his way via the terms of the House settlement.

We assumed from the beginning that Zeigler being granted a fifth year would mean a return to Tennessee, where he played 138 games and graduated, thus extinguishing his eligibility. But to see it on the record from a Tennessee official in this context can only be interpreted one way: Tennessee was willing to undermine a key component of the House settlement on behalf of a player it wanted back on its basketball team. 

It’s especially stunning given that Monday of this week, SEC commissioner Greg Sankey joined four of his colleagues on a call with the media to discuss the settlement finally going into practice.

Undergirding the settlement, which grants schools the ability to pay college athletes from an initial $20.5 million pool of revenue per school, is a new College Sports Commission being formed by the four power conferences that will be charged with enforcing the salary cap and other regulatory duties. Everyone understands the only hope to bring order to the last several years of NIL and transfer chaos is if schools take the terms of the settlement seriously and not look for ways to get around it by lining up sham NIL deals for recruits. That’s why schools have pledged to sign a document affirming the CSC’s authority and forfeiting the ability to sue if things don’t go their way.

“I’ve asked at every level … our university presidents and chancellors, our athletics directors, our head coaches: If you want an unregulated, open system, just raise your hand and let me know,” Sankey said. “And universally, the answer is: ‘No. We want oversight. We want guardrails. We want structures.’

“Those individuals don’t have the luxury to just say that in meeting rooms. Period. They don’t have the luxury to just be anonymous sources. They have a responsibility to make what they’ve sought, what they’ve asked for – to make it work.’

But, as the entire history of college sports has shown, push comes to shove when a coach or an athletics director has an opportunity to go around the rules and add a player to their team who will help them win more games, thus enhancing their job security and increasing their bank account. Easy to say you’re committed to the new system in a meeting with the SEC commissioner, but hard to put in practice when tangible stuff is on the line. 

We can already see that in Tennessee’s support for Zeigler’s eligibility case, which was just a blatant attempt to blow up a longstanding NCAA rule that the vast majority of administrators support.

I reached out to Tennessee for clarification of its position on Thursday morning, coincidentally, a couple of hours before Zeigler’s injunction was denied, and then again after. They’re not going to comment on his case. 

What Tennessee officials would likely say if they did comment is that they had nothing to do with Zeigler’s case and that they filed the affidavit simply out of loyalty and support to their former player.

Fair enough. 

But everyone needs to understand how big of a red flag this is already for the new world of college sports. 

For various reasons, a large number of college athletes are going to feel wronged or aggrieved in this new system or simply search for ways to make more money beyond the salary cap. And unless Congress passes a law with some kind of antitrust exemption, which doesn’t seem likely anytime soon, they will have a legal right to challenge it with an army of lawyers ready and willing to take their cases.

Like Zeigler, they have little to lose and potentially millions of dollars to gain. In some cases, they also have state legislatures like the one in Tennessee making laws that say NCAA rules don’t apply in their state. 

You can’t blame the athlete for that. But you can blame a school that puts into the legal record that it would be willing to, at minimum, violate the spirit of the system it built that was designed to give rule-making and enforcement power back to the schools.

Schools have a choice: They can either have the system they say they want, or they can have rogue legislatures looking to build competitive advantages for good old State U into their laws. They can’t have both.

When Sankey shakes his finger at the media, talking about how his member schools are fully bought-in to coloring within the lines of the House settlement, the rest of college sports rolls its eyes. At the end of the day, are the people at Alabama or Georgia going to really be OK with losing a big recruit to a school with more salary-cap space? 

That’s what we’re talking about here. That’s the whole deal. And if that doesn’t work, the House settlement isn’t going to be worth the paper it’s written on. 

An SEC spokesperson did not return a text message asking for the league’s interpretation of Tennessee supporting Zeigler’s attempt to get a fifth year by guaranteeing his roster spot. And now, thanks to Judge Crytzer, this specific issue is moot. 

But it’s merely a canary in the coal mine. There are going to be more Zeiglers, more Tennessee athletic departments and more Tennessee legislatures, constantly challenging the terms of the House settlement and the College Sports Commission’s authority to do its job because, in the end, those actions will help them win games. 

Will schools stand firm on their own principles? Maybe in meeting rooms with Commissioner Sankey. But in the real world? Good luck.