Updated

Updated · USA TODAY · Aug 23

Browns TE Wright Enters NCAA Portal After 39-Catch Season as Monken Calls 2026 Rules Crazy

Updated

Updated · USA TODAY · Aug 23

Browns TE Wright Enters NCAA Portal After 39-Catch Season as Monken Calls 2026 Rules Crazy

Q: What happens to a player's pro earnings if they successfully abandon the NFL for the NCAA?

If a player leaves the NFL and successfully returns to the NCAA, the money already tied to his pro contract is likely at risk and may have to be repaid. The clearest guidance in these cases comes from the Louisiana court order cited in the Wright litigation. It says players can return to college only if they terminate their NFL contract and “repay any money they have received” before appearing in a college game. In practice, that would most directly apply to signing bonuses and other cash already paid. Guaranteed salary is murkier. Some reporting says guaranteed amounts on undrafted rookie deals could still become due once a player is released, but NFL teams may try to void those guarantees if the player is leaving voluntarily to go back to school. The NFL collective bargaining agreement does not appear to have clear language for this exact scenario, so whether a player keeps or loses that money could become a contract dispute. If a player tried to leave without being released, the NFL team would generally retain his rights. Under the CBA, the contract could be tolled, meaning it pauses while the player is away and resumes if he returns to pro football. So the practical answer is that a returning player should expect to give up his NFL contract, repay money already received, and face uncertainty over any unpaid guarantees. Because this is unprecedented and still being litigated, the exact financial outcome could vary by contract and by court rulings.

3 articles · Updated · USA TODAY · Aug 23

Dae'Quan Wright suited up for Cleveland's preseason game against Buffalo on Aug. 22 while also seeking a return to college football, prompting Browns coach Todd Monken to call the situation "crazy."
A Louisiana temporary restraining order granted Aug. 19 let players on NFL training-camp rosters enter the NCAA transfer portal for a fifth season, extending fallout from a July 31 Colorado ruling on class-of-2022 players.
Wright — a second-team All-SEC pick at Ole Miss — caught 39 passes for 635 yards and five touchdowns in 2025, making him one of the highest-profile players testing the new opening.
NFL teams must cut rosters to 53 by Aug. 30, creating a path for Wright and other fringe camp players to land back on college rosters if they are released.