The SEC isn’t playing around when it comes to schools potentially trying to skirt the new professional players policy that was ratified on Tuesday night. The new rule prohibits any player who signed a contract with an NFL team from playing in the conference, despite a Luisiana judge granting a TRO to allow certain players a fifth year of college eligibility even after spending the summer on an NFL roster. Many fans had wondered what would happen if a coach ignored the rule and still played those players anyway — a notion that came about after LSU head coach Lane Kiffin scoffed at the SEC and other leagues making their own rules to ignore court orders.
Well on Wednesday, the SEC revealed what kind of punishment coaches could face for breaking the “NFL rule.” “NEW: Schools that violate the SEC's professional sports rule will result in: 50% season suspension for head coaches, [a fine] 50% of that sport's annual operating budget, SEC voting privileges on business matters revoked,” On3 reported on X. As part of the coach’s suspension, they will not be permitted to do anything in a coaching, recruiting, or administrative capacity. Kiffin made his objections to the new SEC rule known during an appearance on the “Pat McAfee Show” on Tuesday.
And we’re going to say that these kids that the courts said can go anywhere, we’re going to say no, you can’t.’ That’s some issues there. You can’t decide, ‘Hey, I like that injunction, I don’t like that one, that player I kind of like, and I like the way that they got him eligible, so we’re going to follow those rules, not these.’ It really doesn’t work that way.”
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