LSU’s plan to potentially use former professional football players has already drawn a lawsuit from the SEC and criticism from across college football. Now Clemson has put something else on the table before the teams even kick off in Week 1 of college football.
Yahoo Sports’ Ross Dellenger reported Friday that Clemson notified LSU that playing former professional players in Saturday night’s season opener may violate the game contract between the schools.
Clemson general counsel Chip Hood sent the notice to LSU’s general counsel after the school spent several days reviewing the agreement. According to Dellenger, Clemson still intends to travel to Baton Rouge and play the game, but it wanted its position documented before kickoff.
The message only adds yet another layer to the ongoing controversy LSU has caused, which has quickly gone from a roster issue to a legal fight.
Clemson Warns LSU About Potential Contract Breach
The contract between Clemson and LSU includes language prohibiting the participation of ineligible players, according to Yahoo Sports.
The dispute is complicated by a Louisiana judge’s decision Thursday granting a preliminary injunction that opened the door for former professional players to return to college competition.
Clemson’s notice argued that the ongoing legal battle does not erase the schools’ existing obligations.
Hood’s email referenced “certain eligibility” issues and said the schools’ contractual obligations are “not relieved by the ongoing disputes,” according to Dellenger.
Clemson also stated that it “supports the position of the NCAA and our conferences” on former professional athletes returning to college sports.
The school is not threatening to cancel Saturday’s game and, according to Dellenger, is not currently seeking financial damages from LSU.
Still, the notice matters because Clemson has now formally raised the possibility that LSU’s roster decisions could extend beyond NCAA or SEC enforcement and into the agreement governing the game itself.
LSU had not formally added the former pros to its roster as of Dellenger’s report.
LSU, SEC Already Locked in Legal Battle
The players at the center of the dispute include former Ole Miss tight end Dae’Quan Wright and defensive lineman Zxavian Harris, both of whom spent time with NFL teams before seeking another season of college eligibility.
The SEC filed a federal lawsuit Thursday seeking to stop LSU from using former professional players. The conference argues LSU would violate league rules designed to prohibit former pros from returning to college competition.
The Louisiana ruling, however, gave Wright, Harris and other athletes preliminary relief that could allow them to play.
That has created a situation where LSU faces pressure from multiple directions. The players’ attorney has said he could seek to hold LSU in contempt if the school refuses to roster athletes covered by the injunction, while the SEC is simultaneously trying to enforce its own prohibition.
Clemson coach Dabo Swinney had already made his position clear earlier in the week.
“It’s embarrassing,” Swinney said, while criticizing the lack of consistent rules and governance in college football.
Now Clemson has gone beyond public criticism.
Saturday’s game is still scheduled to be played. But before LSU makes its final roster decisions, Clemson has made sure there is a written record of where it stands — and of the contractual issue it believes could follow if former pros take the field.
LSU Put on Notice by Clemson With Contract Breach Warning: Report