Former Tennessee guard Zakai Zeigler is suing the NCAA for a fifth year of eligibility, claiming he could earn up to $4 million next year after making $500,000 in his senior season with the Vols.
Zeigler’s case could have massive ramifications for the sport. It differs from other recent lawsuits challenging eligibility rules in that there are no special circumstances for Zeigler, such as Vanderbilt quarterback Diego Pavia’s successful suit to gain another year of play because a court ruled his time in junior college should not count against eligibility. The judge ruled that it violated antitrust law.
Zeigler is simply asking for a fifth year of eligibility in five years, essentially challenging current redshirt rules that allow an athlete to play four years in a five-year span.
Zeigler’s representation, Litson PLLC and Garza Law Firm, said in a statement Tuesday that “the NCAA’s rule permitting only four seasons of competition within the five-year eligibility window is an unlawful restraint of trade under federal and state antitrust laws.”
The lawsuit claims the fifth year of eligibility is the most lucrative for “the vast majority of athletes” and that Zeigler will suffer irreparable harm without an immediate injunction allowing him to compete in 2025-26, since schools are finalizing their rosters now. Zeigler intends to pursue a graduate degree after graduating this month from Tennessee with a degree in retail and merchandising management.
The lawsuit points out that Zeigler’s class is the first in the era of name, image and likeness compensation for athletes that has not been granted an extra year. Classes that entered school between 2016 and 2020 all got the extra year because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“With athletes now paid significant amounts by schools explicitly tied to their participation in athletics, NCAA eligibility rules restrict how long they can sell their labor,” Mit Winter, a college athletics attorney, posted on X. “If (Zeigler is) successful, that would give every (Division I) athlete who played four seasons in four years another year to play. Would be a lot of athletes with another available season of competition.”
The 5-foot-9 Zeigler, a last-minute addition to coach Rick Barnes’ 2021 recruiting class, blew past expectations immediately and had a legendary four-year career. He led the Vols to two of the three Elite Eights in program history and is Tennessee’s all-time leader in assists (747), which ranks third in SEC history.
He’s the only player in SEC history to be named to the all-defensive team four times and was a two-time SEC Defensive Player of the Year. He was on the All-SEC first team as a junior and senior, averaging 13.6 points and 7.4 assists in his final season. He was also a fan favorite, and when his family’s home in New York burned down when he was a sophomore, UT fans raised more than $360,000 via GoFundMe.
Now he seeks another season. If he wins, it would have a huge impact on college athletics in the 2025-26 school year and expedite a development some in the industry have seen as inevitable — five seasons of eligibility for all college athletes.
(Photo: Andy Lyons / Getty Images)
