Rutgers transfer Jett Elad is challenging the NCAA’s eligibility rules and hoping to cash in on a lucrative NIL deal.

The Canadian-born safety filed a lawsuit last week in federal district court in New Jersey, seeking an injunction that would block the NCAA from enforcing its so-called “five-year rule.”

The eligibility rule requires student-athletes to play four seasons within five years, including junior college.

Elad, who turns 24 next month, began his journey at Ohio University, where he redshirted in 2019 before playing in three games in 2020 and nine in 2021. He then spent the 2022 season at Garden City Community College in Kansas before transferring to UNLV for the 2023 and 2024 seasons.

“The eligibility rule at issue is unlawful because it has substantial anticompetitive effects on two-year or junior colleges and universities that are excluded from NCAA membership,” states the lawsuit filed by Elad, according to a copy obtained by Sportsnet.

“… This five-year period includes time spent at a two-year or junior college. The effect of this rule (the “Five-Year Rule”) is to discourage student-athletes from attending junior college to prepare for four-year college and to punish those who do so, even though junior colleges may provide such student-athletes with necessary academic and other opportunities. And just as the student-athletes are deprived of the junior-college experience that may so benefit them, the junior colleges are deprived of elite athletes, reducing their ability to compete with NCAA schools.”

Elad hopes to be on the field for coach Greg Schiano’s Scarlet Knights this season, with spring practice starting this week in Piscataway, N.J.

In addition to the opportunity to play in a major conference like the Big Ten, at stake is a reported $500,000 name, image and likeness deal.

The NCAA rule will “permanently deprive (Elad) of a once-in-a-lifetime” NIL deal “and the opportunity to enhance his career and reputation by playing another year of Division I football,” the lawsuit argues.

In a statement to Sportico, an NCAA spokesperson said the association “stands by its eligibility rules, including the five-year rule, which enable student-athletes and schools to have fair competition and ensure broad access to the unique and life-changing opportunity to be a student-athlete.”

U.S. District Judge Zahid Quraishi has scheduled a hearing for April 3 in Trenton, N.J.

–Field Level Media