The SEC just made some big-time threats to LSU regarding its desire to add former NFL players to its roster, and these threats better not be empty before Oklahoma and every other team are stuck with a disadvantage in 2026 that never should have even been a thought.
Court ruling after court ruling has wreaked havoc in college sports, with the latest mess being that recently cut NFL players are trying to return for a fifth season of college football because of the NCAA’s new 5-in-5 rule.
Most fans and head coaches have been vocally against this obvious atrocity to college sports, especially after so much pushback from all around, but new LSU head coach Lane Kiffin still hasn’t given up hope of adding pro players to his roster, and the rest of the SEC might be willing to go to historical measures to make sure it doesn’t happen.
Yahoo Sports’ Ross Dellenger dropped a bombshell Monday afternoon, just days before Week 1 of the college football season kicks off, that university officials within the SEC have discussed extreme measures if LSU really does add professional athletes, including “boycotting competition against the Tigers, sanctioning the school with probation or even expulsion, and/or filing a federal legal challenge.”
SEC discussing punishment if Lane Kiffin adds NFL players to LSU's roster
There are a lot of Ts to cross and Is to dot before either LSU signs pro athletes or the SEC moves forward with a punishment as harsh as kicking the Tigers out of the conference, but it’s clear the situation has met a breaking point.
Every other program in the country also had the opportunity to try to take advantage of this new loophole and add NFL players to its roster, but everyone else either never tried or backed off once every Power 4 conference deemed it illegal.
Although there was immediate speculation and maybe even some hope from fans, there were no serious reports of Brent Venables ever trying to court NFL players back to Norman. The Sooners briefly added former Arkansas defensive tackle Danny Saili during this 5-in-5 chaos, but he never signed a pro contract, and even after he was eventually deemed ineligible for a fifth season, OU just moved on without a fight to keep him. OU also had an open roster spot to fill.
Kiffin’s biggest argument for doing this has been that if you can, then you should, or someone else will. That excuse is now invalid since no one else is. Now, he’s just trying to get an advantage no one else has instead of relying on the roster he assembled. LSU would have a massive advantage by having former NFL players as depth pieces lining up against developing college players.
It’s a slap to the face of not only college athletics, but also your own players. There’s still a roster limit, so whoever LSU adds from the NFL, Kiffin is willing to cut a kid already on the roster just days before the season starts to make room. This goes against everything Venables and general manager Jim Nagy preach about development and committing to the Sooners being a long-term investment to make it to the NFL (and actually stay there).
OU fans can at least respect Venables and Nagy for the way they manage the Sooners’ roster and run their program. It’s why Oklahoma is set up to succeed not just in 2026, but for years to come.
Regardless, even though LSU isn’t on OU’s schedule this season, the Tigers could end up being in the Sooners’ way between an SEC title or College Football Playoff win. That’s fine if they threw a load of money at legal players, but it becomes a travesty if LSU accomplishes anything by taking advantage of an organization without a backbone to enforce rules. If the NCAA won’t actually do anything, then the SEC has to, as the only hope left.
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