Before 2026, college players normally had four seasons of competition within a five-year eligibility window.
An underclassman who still had NCAA eligibility could declare early for the NFL Draft after being out of high school for at least three years.
Once he gave up his remaining college eligibility and entered the NFL Draft, that decision was effectively permanent.
If he was drafted, signed an NFL contract, went to camp, made a practice squad, or otherwise became a professional, he could not later say, “That didn’t work out; I’m going back to college.”
The NCAA specifically prohibited players who had signed professional contracts from returning to college competition.
So the traditional path was basically:
College → declare for NFL Draft → professional football. No going backward.
But now, some players are choosing to step down the ladder instead of up the stairs.  
We chat all about it, plus an update from Scott on how much has changed since we did, only last Tuesday!
There’s no livestream tonight, but we’ll be back next week!
Scott & A will be at Dragon*Con in Atlanta, GA this year! Come out and see us over Labor Day Weekend!
 
— Slices is created by <a href="http://www.scottsigler.com/">Scott Sigler</a> and <a href="https://abkovacscom.wordpress.com">A B Kovacs</a>
— Produced by <a href="http://www.steveriekeberg.com">Steve Riekeberg</a>
— Production Assistance by <a href="http://www.alliepress.net/">Allie Press</a>
— Copyright 2026 by <a href="http://www.emptyset.com/">Empty Set Entertainment </a>
 
Oh lord, do I gotta take calculus again? 
I swear, thinking about going back to college just squicks me out. I don’t think I’d go back even just to blog about it using GoDaddy Promo Code <a href="http://www.scottsigler.com/godaddy-promo-codes%20CJCFOSSIG3">CJCFOSSIG3</a>, which saves me ninety-nine percent off of the first year of a 3-year domain! Not even for steak night in the chow hall!Learn more about your ad choices. Visit <a href="https://megaphone.fm/adchoices">megaphone.fm/adchoices</a>

SLICES: NFL Players Going Back to College?

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