Chiefs Claim Jack Pyburn, Blocking $1 Million LSU NIL Return
Updated
Updated · Fox News · Aug 31
Chiefs Claim Jack Pyburn, Blocking $1 Million LSU NIL Return
3 articles · Updated · Fox News · Aug 31
Summary
Kansas City claimed Jack Pyburn off waivers from Tampa Bay on Monday, keeping the linebacker on an NFL 53-man roster and ending his path back to LSU for 2026.
That move undercut a potential pay raise: Pyburn's rookie NFL salary is set at $885,000, below the roughly $1 million he was projected to earn through NIL if he returned to college.
Pyburn had been positioned to go back because a Louisiana lawsuit won a temporary restraining order letting certain athletes reclaim 2026 college eligibility if they exited pro contracts and repaid earnings.
The undrafted former LSU and Florida defender was expected to be cut by the Buccaneers after receiving $115,000 guaranteed, but the Chiefs' waiver claim transferred his contract rights and prompted him to withdraw from the lawsuit.
The case highlights how NIL and eligibility rulings are increasingly making top college football programs a financial rival even to entry-level NFL jobs.