Chase Belcher put together a real 2025 season at Kennesaw State — 566 rushing yards on 5.3 yards a carry — and got nothing for it on the NFL side. No preseason roster spot, no camp invite that stuck. So now, according to On3's Pete Nakos, Belcher is suing for a fifth year of eligibility and the chance to re-enter the transfer portal.
Kennesaw State running back Chase Belcher is filing a lawsuit for a 5th year of eligibility and to enter the transfer portal, a source tells @On3. Was not on an NFL preseason roster. Rushed for 566 yards in 2025 with 5.3 yards per carry. t.co/wMrfFrcNOy
This isn't a random Hail Mary. Belcher is jumping into a legal fight that's been building all year. The NCAA rolled out an age-based eligibility model this summer giving athletes five years to play five seasons starting the year after their 19th birthday or first enrollment — but it carved out players from the 2022 enrollment class who'd already used up four years, denying them the extra season. That carve-out has been getting torched in court.
A federal class action out of Colorado, Wisne v. NCAA, already produced an injunction letting Class-of-2022 athletes access that fifth year while the case plays out. State courts in Ohio, Georgia and Tennessee have granted similar relief to individual athletes, mostly on the basketball side so far — one Ohio ruling alone put 15 hoopers back on the floor for 2026-27. The NCAA has appealed just about all of it and says it'll fight to the end, but for now judges keep siding with the players.
Belcher's case is the football version of the same playbook: file suit, ask for an injunction, hope a judge grants relief fast enough to actually matter before the portal window closes. Given he never landed an NFL preseason roster spot despite a productive final season, the math is simple — a fifth year and a fresh portal entry is worth more to him right now than whatever's left of his pro shot.
Whether this works comes down to timing and whichever judge draws the case. The precedent is there. What isn't guaranteed is a ruling landing before rosters and transfer windows lock in for 2026, which is exactly the kind of chaos schools have been bracing for since this wave of lawsuits started.