Clemson has added a fresh layer to the NFL-to-college eligibility fight on the eve of its season opener against LSU, telling the Tigers that using former pro players in Saturday’s game could amount to a breach of the teams’ scheduling agreement.
According to Yahoo Sports, Clemson officials informed LSU that any on-field involvement from ex-NFL players may technically violate the contract binding the schools to play each other. In its email, Clemson said the eligibility concerns it believes could run afoul of that agreement are “not relieved by the ongoing disputes.”
Even with that hard line, Clemson is not asking LSU for financial damages, and the game remains set for Saturday night in Baton Rouge. The school is also not pursuing legal action against LSU, per the report.
The timing matters because a Louisiana court recently ruled that multiple athletes are eligible to return to college football after spending a short stint in the NFL this preseason. LSU has not publicly said whether it plans to use any of those players in Week 1.
SEC schools, including LSU, have until midnight Eastern time on Saturday morning to finalize their rosters, and the conference is expected to want a formal answer on whether Lane Kiffin and his staff will include those former pros on the Tigers’ official list.
Kiffin was already pulled into the dispute earlier this week, when the SEC named him and other LSU officials in a federal lawsuit tied to the recruiting of ex-pros. The league argued that the effort to bring those players in violates its rights after it had already put a rule in place blocking that move.
Clemson coach Dabo Swinney made his feelings clear when asked about the situation, calling the whole thing “embarrassing.”
“It’s kind of embarrassing. Honestly, it’s embarrassing that’s where we are.
I don’t blame the kids, but people trying to take advantage of the system. It’s embarrassing, but we’ve been here for a while,” he said.
The Power Four conferences quickly moved to bar member schools from signing former pros, but a judge stepped in in the SEC’s case and said the players did not have to follow that conference rule.
LSU is scheduled to host Clemson in Baton Rouge at 6:30 p.m. local time. The only real question now is who actually takes the field for Lane Kiffin’s first Tiger team.
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