The SEC is moving to comply with the latest court order, a step that would open the door for players with professional ties to sign with league schools.
Per Darren Heitner, the conference and commissioner Greg Sankey will follow all new applicable court orders. Ross Dellenger reported that the SEC has already told attorneys it will comply, which would allow signings to move forward.
That development comes after a Louisiana judge on Friday amended a temporary restraining order against the NCAA to add the SEC and Sankey. The hearing is scheduled for 11 a.m.
Thursday in Baton Rouge, and the timing matters: SEC teams have to have their 105-man rosters finalized one day before the first game of the season, which for most schools is Saturday, Sept. 5.
The original temporary restraining order was issued Aug. 19 and granted 2026 eligibility to more than 40 athletes. That group included several players who spent time in NFL training camps this summer, among them former Ole Miss defensive lineman Zxavian Harris and tight end Dae’Quan Wright. Both have committed to LSU after being waived by NFL teams.
The SEC had just taken its own hard line earlier in the week. On Tuesday, the league followed the Big Ten in announcing a rule that bars member schools from trying to roster players who signed contracts with NFL, NBA, G League and WNBA teams. The SEC also laid out penalties for violations, including coach suspensions and fines in the millions of dollars.
Friday’s amended order appears to undercut that league rule, at least for now, until Thursday’s hearing in Baton Rouge. The court’s filing says Sankey and the SEC are not being held in contempt at this point, but have been added as defendants so plaintiffs can “seek injunctive relief against them via a separate motion.”
The dispute is part of a broader battle involving college sports conferences and former - and possibly future - athletes who graduated high school in 2022 and played as fourth-year seniors during the 2025-26 athletic year. That class was excluded from the NCAA’s “five to play five” rule, which is scheduled to begin with the 2026-27 athletic year.
Also named as a plaintiff in the Louisiana case against the NCAA, and now the SEC, are former Notre Dame defensive lineman Junior Tuihalamaka, who recently committed to LSU, and former Florida and LSU defensive end Jack Pyburn, who is currently with the NFL’s Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Pyburn reportedly plans to return to LSU if he is waived by the Buccaneers before Sept. 1.
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