Here We Go: Student-Athletes Slap NCAA With Lawsuit To Change ‘Redshirt Rule’

And the moment has finally arrived … the challenging of the infamous “redshirt rule.”

Several student-athletes have slapped the NCAA with a lawsuit attempting to change the regulations regarding how much eligibility can be granted, aiming at the current “redshirt rule” that exists in college athletics.

Langston Patterson, a linebacker for Vanderbilt, and four other student-athletes filed a lawsuit Tuesday against the NCAA in Middle Tennessee that issues a challenge against the rule that pertains to eligibility and how many years players can partake in collegiate competition. Their redshirt year is currently included.

Currently, the five-year regulation only permits student-athletes to be a part of competition for four years in the five total that they’re given, with several athletes in sports including football, basketball and baseball only being on a team if they enact their “redshirt year” that will go along with their clock. As of right now, athletes are not allowed to compete in all five of their years, just four. (RELATED: ‘We Dominated Them’: LSU’s Brian Kelly Utterly Cooks Clemson’s Dabo Swinney After ‘Final Exam’ Comments)

If a player wants to keep their “redshirt year” intact, they’re only allowed to participate in four contests in that campaign. If they went on to play in a fifth season, it would be added to their eligibility clock.

In the lawsuit filed Tuesday by the Texas Trial Group, they are issuing a challenge to the NCAA permitting student-athletes to be a part of practices, workouts and other activities, but not actual contests.

“For almost fifty years, the NCAA has enforced a rule providing Division I college athletes with a five-year window to exhaust their competition eligibility (the “Five-Year Rule”). 2 However, within those five years, the NCAA limits college athletes to competing in only four seasons of intercollegiate competition (the “Four Seasons Rule”) 3 and otherwise dictates that a college athlete may use the fifth year only to compete in team activities without, or with limited, participation in intercollegiate competition (the “Redshirt Rule”).”

NEW: Athletes, led by Vanderbilt LB Langston Patterson, have filed a lawsuit against the NCAA, challenging the ‘redshirt rule’ to permit five full years of eligibility.https://t.co/XbAFU7uzol pic.twitter.com/Nhihx6e4E5

— On3 (@On3sports) September 2, 2025

A group of athletes, headlined by two Vanderbilt football players, has filed a class action lawsuit to challenge NCAA eligibility rules and allow athletes five seasons of competition (instead of four + a redshirt year) pic.twitter.com/iimBBONHBE

— Nicole Auerbach (@NicoleAuerbach) September 2, 2025

I’m always down for a good court battle, and this one really hits the spot. *sips coffee*