Multiple NFL players granted extra year of NCAA eligibility in wild twist

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Key points

• Wright is listed on the Browns' roster, Williams is on the Cardinals and Hankerson is part of the Seahawks' organization.
• According to Attorney Ryan Downton, all three players have expressed an interest in being issued from their NFL contracts, and should that happen by Sept.
• The NCAA has faced a number of lawsuits after the change to eligibility rules as athletes attempt to play a fifth year of collegiate sports.

Three football players listed on NFL rosters are among a group of 33 athletes who are part of a lawsuit against the NCAA and were granted a temporary restraining order by a Louisiana state court to return to college for one more season.

Former Ole Miss starters Dae'Quan Wright and Wydett Williams and former Oregon State running back Anthony Hankerson are part of the lawsuit filed on Wednesday, and all appear on rosters of NFL teams, ESPN documented.

According to Attorney Ryan Downton, all three players have expressed an interest in being issued from their NFL contracts, and should that happen by Sept. 1, they would be allowed to play collegiately thanks to the restraining order, according to ESPN.

Notably, the NCAA has faced a number of lawsuits after the change to eligibility rules as athletes attempt to play a fifth year of collegiate sports.

Notably, the suit alleges that the NCAA is breaching its "covenant of good faith" by not allowing these players the same chance to play a fifth year as past and future student-athletes have received.

Earlier this summer, the NCAA overhauled its eligibility rules to allow student-athletes to be able to play for five seasons over a five-year window that begins when they enroll in college or in the school year that follows their 19th birthday, depending on what comes first.

Meanwhile, the new eligibility rules essentially wipe away most waivers that athletes had been able to obtain previously so as to extend their college careers due to injuries or other circumstances.

Taken together, the developments around multiple NFL players granted extra year of NCAA eligibility in wild twist point to a situation that is still moving, and the coming days should bring more clarity.