Charlie Baker said Justice Haynes is being tested by court rulings that have let former NFL and NBA players return to college sports. He said those decisions are eroding eligibility rules that are meant to keep college competition bounded. More than 165 lawsuits have been filed since the start of 2025.
Charlie Baker and Justice Haynes
Baker wrote that the boundary between college sports and professional sports is being dismantled amid a relentless wave of litigation. He said the recent rulings are not isolated; they add pressure to the NCAA’s limits on who can compete and for how long.
He also said college sports matter and added, "They serve our nation’s youth, and I believe they are the greatest human development tool in the entire world."
NCAA eligibility limits
The NCAA has been ordered in two cases to allow professional basketball players to return to college basketball after they had left for the NBA Draft and played in several NBA games. A judge also required the NCAA to allow an athlete to compete for a fifth school in five years.
Those rulings sit alongside two courts permitting NFL players to return immediately to college football in the past two weeks. Baker’s warning is that the eligibility line is no longer being set by one rulebook in one place, but by repeated court orders that change the available field case by case.
Protect College Sports Act
NCAA member schools recently updated the eligibility rule to allow up to five years of competition before age 24. Baker said the Protect College Sports Act would create one clear, fair and enforceable eligibility standard, while also codifying scholarship, healthcare and revenue-sharing protections.
He said it would also establish sport minimums and roster protections to help protect opportunities in women’s and Olympic sports. For current and incoming student-athletes, the practical effect is a narrower path to roster spots, scholarships, playing time and development opportunities while the legal fight keeps adding exceptions. The Senate is expected to return from recess, and lawmakers may consider the Protect College Sports Act.
