SEC Reveals Harsh Punishments for Teams That Violate New ‘NFL’ Rule — Newsweek

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SEC Reveals Harsh Punishments for Teams That Violate New ‘NFL’ Rule — Newsweek | AIPROPX

0 Share Newsweek is a Trust Project member See more of our trusted coverage when you search. Prefer Newsweek on Google to see more of our trusted coverage when you search. 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 .

“The league retains the right to levy other penalties by commissioner Greg Sankey and/or SEC presidents/chancellors if necessary,” the outlet added .

As part of the coach’s suspension, they will not be permitted to do anything in a coaching, recruiting, or administrative capacity.

“Power brokers in the SEC (and similarly, the Big Ten) are of the belief that the scope of a conference — as opposed to the anti-trust nature of NCAA cases — will allow this rule to withstand legal challenges b/c penalties are directed at coaches and programs, not individual athletes,” Matt Norland of CBS Sports reported.

Kiffin made his objections to the new SEC rule known during an appearance on the “Pat McAfee Show” on Tuesday.

“All court orders have been followed,” Kiffin said. “I think you’re going to get in a really interesting situation of now, as a conference, you start to say, ‘Well, we’re not going to follow this court order that’s been issued. 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.

“Doesn’t work like that. 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.”