An active NFL player has entered the college football transfer portal for the first time in what marks a significant development in the ongoing legal challenges against the NCAA. Browns tight end Dae’Quan Wright formally entered the transfer portal on Thursday, according to reporting by CBS Sports.
This action follows a Louisiana state court's decision to grant a temporary restraining order affecting Wright and 32 other athletes involved in a lawsuit against the NCAA. The order permits these athletes to return to college for an additional season. The ruling creates an avenue for players currently in NFL camps, or those who are cut from NFL rosters, to potentially play college football this season under name, image, and likeness (NIL) or revenue-sharing agreements.
Wright, who has been under contract with both the Philadelphia Eagles and is currently with the Browns organization, is one of three players named in the Louisiana lawsuit who are currently on NFL rosters. The lawsuit contends that the NCAA is violating a "covenant of good faith" by denying these players the opportunity to play a fifth collegiate year, a chance that has been afforded to past and future athletes.
The NCAA has been facing multiple lawsuits since modifying its eligibility rules earlier this year. Tim Buckley, the NCAA's senior vice president of external affairs, expressed concern over the judicial rulings. "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," Buckley stated in a message to ESPN. He added, "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."
During his college career, Wright played for Virginia Tech and Ole Miss, where he recorded 113 receptions for 1,603 yards.