NCAA close to expanding 25-man college football signing limit

If there’s one thing that seems to be constant in college football these days, it’s change.

From the one-time transfer rule, to Texas and Oklahoma leaving the Big 12 for the SEC — to name, image, and likeness — and the potential for expanding the College Football Playoff, we don’t blame you if you’ve gotten whiplash from all the head-turning and eyeball crossing.

Well, add this one to the bucket. According to SI’s Ross Dellenger, it looks like the NCAA may be close to expanding the 25-man singing limit for college football recruiting. Why, you ask? According to sources close to Dellenger, it has mostly to do with the challenges of managing rosters with the increase in transfers. It has caused depleted rosters in some cases, and overpopulated ones in others, causing college coaches to make difficult decisions when it comes to the numbers game.

According to the report, “The NCAA Division I Football Oversight Committee is finalizing a proposal that would change the signing limit this cycle in what’s being described as a one-year waiver of relief until a permanent policy is created,” writes Dellenger.

So, that means we could have something temporary on the table for the 2022 class, and then a more permanent solution down the road. Officials spoke under the condition of anonymity because of the sensitive nature of the discussions.

It’s tricky business though because you can bet some schools will use it to oversign and pressure players into the portal. Because of this, there is a compromise proposal reportedly on the table that would allow schools to sign 25 players, but supplement that with an extra spot for every player that transfers out — up to a certain limit yet to be defined. The 25-man signing limit has been around since 2011, but tweaked in 2008 because of coaches using loopholes to still oversign.

The limit almost has to be expanded, especially with those that took advantage of the extra year of eligibility because of COVID-19 start to work their way out of the program. You can bet that coaches will be looking for whatever advantage and loopholes they can find with this new ability if and when it becomes reality, and that’s why taking time to get something in place that is clear and fair would be prudent.

We’ll follow this as the story continues to evolve. Our friends in the SEC who were the reason limits were put in place have to be foaming at the mouth though.

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