An active NFL player has entered the college football transfer portal.
Browns tight end Dae’Quan Wright entered the transfer portal on Thursday, according to CBS Sports’ Matt Zenitz, after a Louisiana state court granted a temporary restraining order that affected him and 32 other athletes involved in a lawsuit against the NCAA. It now allows them return to college for one more season.
The latest bizarre turn of events marks the first time that an active NFL player has formally entered the portal.
The temporary restraining order has opened up a window that would allow for players in NFL camps and who get cut to play college football this season on an NIL or revenue share deal.
Wright is currently a member of the Browns organization and had previously been under contract with the Eagles.
The former college tight end is one of three players in the lawsuit filed in Louisiana who are currently on NFL rosters.
The lawsuit alleges that the NCAA is breaching its “covenant of good faith” by not granting these players the chance to play a fifth year like players in the past and future have been.
The governing body of college sports has faced a number of lawsuits since it changed its eligibility rules earlier this year.
“Courts across the country granting relief to ineligible athletes who already had every opportunity to compete in college – sometimes without even having a hearing – are failing to appreciate the destabilizing effect their rulings are having on college sports,” NCAA senior vice president of external affairs Tim Buckley said in a statement to ESPN.
“The lawyers bringing these cases seemingly won’t be satisfied until every professional athlete can treat college sports as a fallback option, regardless of the opportunities it strips from those who will never have a chance to begin their collegiate sports experience.”
Wright played for Virginia Tech and Ole Miss during his college career and made 113 catches for 1,603 yards.
