Latest news with #JettElad
Yahoo
25-04-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Rutgers football safety Jett Elad ruled eligible for 2025 following court decision
Rutgers football safety Jett Elad has won a preliminary injunction that will grant him eligibility for the 2025 season, according to a decision released by United States District Judge Zahid N. Quraishi on Friday. Elad, who transferred to Rutgers from UNLV, filed a lawsuit against the NCAA hoping to block the institution from enforcing its five-year rule, which allows for four competitive seasons in a five-year timeframe. Elad and Rutgers argued that Elad's year at Garden City Community College in 2022 should not count toward his eligibility. This will be Elad's seventh season of college football. He previously spent three years at Ohio University before his JUCO year – he redshirted in 2019 and 2020, which didn't count toward his eligibility after the NCAA issued a waiver to all athletes because of the pandemic. Much of the reason for Elad's argument stemmed from the ruling the NCAA made on Diego Pavia, the Vanderbilt quarterback who won an NCAA injunction before last season after he argued his JUCO year shouldn't count toward his eligibility clock. In December, the NCAA announced that athletes would be eligible for 2025-26 if they competed at a 'non-NCAA school for one or two years' previously and would have exhausted their eligibility following the 2024-25 year. Rutgers coach Greg Schiano testified in Elad's case. The court's decision is a major win for the Scarlet Knights, who will have one of their top impact transfers available next season. This article originally appeared on Rutgers football: Jett Elad granted eligibility for 2025
USA Today
25-04-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
Rutgers football safety Jett Elad ruled eligible for 2025 following court decision
Rutgers football safety Jett Elad ruled eligible for 2025 following court decision Show Caption Hide Caption Rutgers University Football schedule for 2025 Rutgers University Football schedule for 2025 Rutgers football safety Jett Elad has won a preliminary injunction that will grant him eligibility for the 2025 season, according to a decision released by United States District Judge Zahid N. Quraishi on Friday. Elad, who transferred to Rutgers from UNLV, filed a lawsuit against the NCAA hoping to block the institution from enforcing its five-year rule, which allows for four competitive seasons in a five-year timeframe. Elad and Rutgers argued that Elad's year at Garden City Community College in 2022 should not count toward his eligibility. This will be Elad's seventh season of college football. He previously spent three years at Ohio University before his JUCO year – he redshirted in 2019 and 2020, which didn't count toward his eligibility after the NCAA issued a waiver to all athletes because of the pandemic. Much of the reason for Elad's argument stemmed from the ruling the NCAA made on Diego Pavia, the Vanderbilt quarterback who won an NCAA injunction before last season after he argued his JUCO year shouldn't count toward his eligibility clock. In December, the NCAA announced that athletes would be eligible for 2025-26 if they competed at a 'non-NCAA school for one or two years' previously and would have exhausted their eligibility following the 2024-25 year. Rutgers coach Greg Schiano testified in Elad's case. The court's decision is a major win for the Scarlet Knights, who will have one of their top impact transfers available next season.
Miami Herald
25-03-2025
- Sport
- Miami Herald
Report: Rutgers transfer seeking NIL deal suing NCAA
Rutgers transfer Jett Elad is challenging the NCAA's eligibility rules and hoping to cash in on a lucrative NIL deal. The Canadian-born safety filed a lawsuit last week in federal district court in New Jersey, seeking an injunction that would block the NCAA from enforcing its so-called "five-year rule." The eligibility rule requires student-athletes to play four seasons within five years, including junior college. Elad, who turns 24 next month, began his journey at Ohio University, where he redshirted in 2019 before playing in three games in 2020 and nine in 2021. He then spent the 2022 season at Garden City Community College in Kansas before transferring to UNLV for the 2023 and 2024 seasons. "The eligibility rule at issue is unlawful because it has substantial anticompetitive effects on two-year or junior colleges and universities that are excluded from NCAA membership," states the lawsuit filed by Elad, according to a copy obtained by Sportsnet. "... This five-year period includes time spent at a two-year or junior college. The effect of this rule (the "Five-Year Rule") is to discourage student-athletes from attending junior college to prepare for four-year college and to punish those who do so, even though junior colleges may provide such student-athletes with necessary academic and other opportunities. And just as the student-athletes are deprived of the junior-college experience that may so benefit them, the junior colleges are deprived of elite athletes, reducing their ability to compete with NCAA schools." Elad hopes to be on the field for coach Greg Schiano's Scarlet Knights this season, with spring practice starting this week in Piscataway, N.J. In addition to the opportunity to play in a major conference like the Big Ten, at stake is a reported $500,000 name, image and likeness deal. The NCAA rule will "permanently deprive (Elad) of a once-in-a-lifetime" NIL deal "and the opportunity to enhance his career and reputation by playing another year of Division I football," the lawsuit argues. In a statement to Sportico, an NCAA spokesperson said the association "stands by its eligibility rules, including the five-year rule, which enable student-athletes and schools to have fair competition and ensure broad access to the unique and life-changing opportunity to be a student-athlete." U.S. District Judge Zahid Quraishi has scheduled a hearing for April 3 in Trenton, N.J. --Field Level Media Field Level Media 2025 - All Rights Reserved
Yahoo
24-03-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Rutgers Transfer Sues NCAA to Extend Football Eligibility
Safety Jett Elad is looking to play football for his fourth university and the chance to land a $500,000 NIL deal. In order to do that, he is taking the NCAA to court. Elad—who previously played at Ohio University, Garden City Community College in Kansas and UNLV—filed a complaint in a New Jersey federal district court on Thursday, demanding an injunction that would block the NCAA from enforcing a rule that bars his eligibility. Elad hopes to join the Scarlet Knights when spring practices begin Tuesday. More from Athletes' NIL in Advertising Could Pose Legal Problems, Judge Rules ATP, WTA Sued by Pospisil-Led PTPA for Restraining Player Pay West Virginia to Probe 'Corrupt' NCAA After WVU Tourney Snub Elad, who turns 24 next month, joins a growing list of seasoned college athletes who litigate their exhaustion of NCAA eligibility. These cases have led to conflicting outcomes, with some athletes gaining injunctions and others coming up short. At the core of these cases are NCAA eligibility rules limiting an athlete's participation in sports to five calendar years from when the athlete begins studying at a college and four seasons of intercollegiate competition (including junior college competition) in any one sport. The players argue these rules run afoul of antitrust law. As the players see it, competing businesses—NCAA member schools and conferences—have joined hands to unreasonably deny athletes' NIL opportunities and, if the House settlement is approved, revenue sharing opportunities, too. Some of the judges have agreed with the players, reasoning that in the modern world of college sports, college athletes are economic actors whose chance to play—and be paid—is within the realm of antitrust law. Others disagree; they regard eligibility rules as fundamentally non-commercial in nature, since those rules are tied to the education of college students and enrollment at a university. The possibility of an NIL-seeking athlete trying to stay enrolled at a university for many years, using a roster spot that would otherwise go to a younger player, has struck some as problematic and at odds with higher education goals. Elad, who grew up in Canada, graduated from Saint Ignatius High School (Ohio) in 2019 and was a three-star recruit. He matriculated to Ohio University and redshirted his freshman year, meaning 2019 counted towards his five years but didn't count as one of his four seasons. Elad played for the Bobcats in 2020, but his team only played three games due to the COVID-19 pandemic; the NCAA granted a waiver so that year didn't count for eligibility purposes. After playing in nine games for the Bobcats in 2021, Elad transferred to Garden City Junior College in Garden City, Kan., for the 2022 season, meaning he played junior college football that season. He then transferred to UNLV for his 2023 and 2024 seasons, where he excelled. Elad was a finalist for the Jon Cornish trophy, which recognizes the top Canadian in NCAA football, and was honorable mention for the All-Mountain West Team. In sum, Elad played four seasons (2021, 2022, 2023 and 2024) in five years (2019, 2021, 2022, 2023 and 2024). Late last year, Elad believed he might gain a chance to play beyond the expiration of his NCAA eligibility. In the wake of a judge granting a preliminary injunction to allow Vanderbilt quarterback and former junior college transfer Diego Pavia to play in fall 2025, the NCAA granted a waiver to allow similarly situated former JUCO players to play a fourth year of D-I in fall 2025 or spring 2026. Elad's situation to some degree resembles that of Pavia, though Pavia did not redshirt, and he played three D-I seasons in three years rather than three D-I seasons in four years. Elad entered the transfer portal a few months ago and agreed to join Rutgers; by playing for Rutgers, he says he'd land a NIL deal that is worth about $500,000—'a life-altering source of revenue for [Elad] and his family,' according to the complaint, which is authored by Kevin H. Marino and other attorneys from Marino, Tortorella & Boyle. Rutgers petitioned the NCAA to waive enforcement of the five-year rule, but the complaint says the NCAA denied the request. Rutgers has appealed the NCAA's decision and the appeal is pending. Elad worries that if he doesn't join spring practices, Rutgers will 'replace him on the roster with another player and he will lose the opportunity to play for Rutgers next season.' Spring practices, the complaint details, are 'are critical to both the team and Elad, as they would facilitate his integration into the team's overall strategy and defensive play and enable Elad to develop a rapport with the Rutgers coaching staff and teammates.' U.S. District Judge Zahid N. Quraishi, who graduated from Rutgers Law School, and U.S. Magistrate Judge Justin T. Quinn have been assigned to preside over Elad v. NCAA. Quraishi has scheduled a hearing for April 3 at a federal courthouse in Trenton, N.J. Attorneys for the NCAA will respond to Elad's filing. In a statement to Sportico, an NCAA spokesperson said the association 'stands by its eligibility rules, including the five-year rule, which enable student-athletes and schools to have fair competition and ensure broad access to the unique and life-changing opportunity to be a student-athlete.' The spokesperson added, 'the NCAA is making changes to modernize college sports but attempts to alter the enforcement of foundational eligibility rules—approved and supported by membership leaders—make a shifting environment even more unsettled.' These eligibility cases are playing out while the NCAA has urged Congress to step in. One possible legislative reform would be an antitrust exemption for eligibility-related cases, meaning colleges and conferences could set what they regard as sensible eligibility restrictions for blending academic and athletic goals without facing continuous antitrust lawsuits. Best of College Athletes as Employees: Answering 25 Key Questions
