Zakai Zeigler has filed a lawsuit against the NCAA seeking a fifth year of eligibility after his Tennessee basketball career concluded.
The lawsuit requests a preliminary injunction to allow Zeigler to compete in the 2025-26 season, arguing that he will suffer irreparable harm without immediate injunctive relief as schools are currently finalizing rosters and settling NIL agreements. It claims Zeigler could earn up to $4 million if eligible in the 2025-26 season based on an analysis from Spyre Sports.
Zeigler’s lawsuit attacks the NCAA’s redshirt rule, which allows a player a fifth year of eligibility as long as the player sat out a year of competition. Zeigler played four consecutive seasons and did not redshirt but argues that he should be allowed a fifth year of eligibility and earning potential instead of being essentially punished for not redshirting.
It notes that the fifth year is “the most lucrative year of the eligibility window for the vast majority of athletes.”
“All NCAA athletes should be eligible to compete and earn NIL compensation during each year of the five-year window — not just those selected to redshirt,” the court filings state.
The lawsuit indicates that Zeigler is not challenging the five-year eligibility window, but the four-year competition window within the five years. It notes that Zeigler’s class is the first class in the NIL era to “have their ability to engage in commerce truncated to four years” because prior classes were granted an extra year due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
“The lawsuit alleges 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,” Zeigler’s counsel from The Garza Law Firm and Litson PLLC said in a statement.
Zeigler averaged 11.3 points and 5.4 assists in his four seasons with the Vols. He shot 33.1% on 3-pointers.
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