The transfer portal window closed at 11:59 on January 2nd, yet as of January 4th at 2:00 PM ET, another 39 players have entered their name into the portal, sending a few different messages that go deeper than a player simply wanting to have an opportunity to play elsewhere.
With the transfer portal and the rules on transfers constantly changing, what is going to happen to these to players? And why are they transferring so late?
*For this particular article, I will be referencing a 24/7 Sports Article by Chris Hummer
Official Rules on the Transfer Portal Window
According to the rules, an player must enter the transfer portal inside of the window unless they fall under the following categories:
- Their team played in a late bowl game. When the transfer portal switched from 45 to 30 days, they allowed a five day grace period for teams who played in a late bowl game. This means that teams who played on January 1st will be allowed to enter as late as January 6th. Of the 39 new entrees, 20 of them fall into this window.
- Graduate players are allowed to enter the transfer portal whenever they want. The only rule they have is that they must enter their name before May 1st.
Another possibility is that players signed the paperwork to be entered into the portal on January 2nd, but their paperwork is just now being processed. There is no specific timeframe for when the NCAA approves a transfer, but it’s been commonly accepted that it can take up to 48 hours, which would mean that new transfers coming in before January 4th at 11:59 would very likely be considered in this group.
What Happens if a Player Enters Late?
If a player decides to enter the transfer portal after the window, they are subject to have to sit out a year. Some players can get a waiver approved, but theoretically those are supposed to be for extreme cases and far and few between (such as a late coach firing or health related). The brand or ‘stars’ of a player technically isn’t included, even though we all know that if a big name QB decided tomorrow to come back but wanted to transfer, they’d make an exception.
For most players, to avoid this situation, they will wait until the second transfer portal window after Spring Football finishes up. This window is primarily for players who realize they aren’t where they they hoped to be on the depth chart and rarely has the same big names that the winter transfer portal window has.
Will Players Respect/Trust the NCAA?
A storyline to watch the next couple of days will be whether it appears if players respect or believe in the NCAA’s ability to enforce the ‘sit-out’ rule. A few weeks ago, U.S. District Judge John Preston Bailey in northern West Virginia ruled against players transferring twice allowing hundreds of college basketball players to have immediate eligibility.
The NCAA is clearly losing power and control over sports, particularly football. It will be interesting to see whether players who decide late to enter for various reasons to defy the rules and essential make a bet that the rule won’t hold up next season. Everyone knows that money runs the sport, and if a player transferring will bring money to the sport, the NCAA may decide to not get involved.
Regardless of what happens, it appears that the transfer portal is going to easily pass last year’s numbers, and it may do so before the spring window even begins.
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