An East Tennessee judge denied Tennessee point guard Zakai Zeigler’s preliminary injunction seeking an extra-season of eligibility, Yahoo! Sports’ Ross Dellenger first reported Thursday.
Zeigler filed the lawsuit against the NCAA on May 20, arguing that the NCAA is causing “irreparable injury” to his economic interests by keeping him from playing college basketball during the 2025-26 season. The lawsuit argued against redshirts, saying Zeigler should not be punished with one less year of eligibility because he did not redshirt any seasons.
“The court is a court of law, not policy,” District Judge Katherine Crytzer wrote in her decision. “What the NCAA should do as a policy matter to benefit student athletes is beyond the each of the Sherman Act and TIPA”
During the hearing last week, Zeigler’s lawyers stated that Tennessee had an open roster spot for point guard and that he intended to play his fifth college season at Tennessee if he won his case.
Since the fifth year is, theoretically, the most profitable for a player because of their development Zeigler’s case argues that the NCAA can not lawfully take that fifth year away from him. Zeigler’s lawsuit claims that he has an NIL valuation of $2-4 million according to Spyre Sports— Tennessee athletics’ NIL collective.
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Judge Crytzer states that Zeigler’s case “failed to present sufficient evident that the Four Seasons rule produces substantial anticompetitive effect that harms consumers in the market for student-athlete services and NIL compensation in Division I basketball.”
Crytzer writes that while the NCAA can limit the labor side of the market, they do not have any control over the wage side of the market. And since the limit on the labor side is effectively just replacing one Division I player with another, the Four Seasons Rule does not create anticompetitive effects.
Another part of Zeigler’s argument is that the NCAA’s own academic requirements acknowledge that the average student athlete graduates in over four year, making four-year rule unwise. Zeigler did graduate in May.
Zeigler was a four-year contributor and three-year starter for Tennessee basketball. A two-time All-SEC selection and SEC Defensive Player of the Year, Zeigler was named a Third Team All-American by multiple athletes for his play during the 2024-25 season.
In his senior season, Zeigler averaged 13.6 points and 7.4 assists per game and led Tennessee to the Elite Eight for the second straight season. Zeigler was also a key part of Tennessee winning the 2024 SEC Regular-Season Championship.
