Zakai Zeigler lawsuit argues he could make $2-4 million in fifth year of college basketball

In Zakai Zeigler’s lawsuit against the NCAA, the former Tennessee Basketball star seeks the same five years of eligibility and the same NIL opportunities that other student-athletes have been and are taking advantage of.

“He seeks to compete in the fifth year of his five-year eligibility window while pursuing a graduate degree,” the complaint stated. “But he finds himself arbitrarily barred from doing so by an NCAA rule that limits athletes to participating in only four seasons of intercollegiate competition within the five-year window”. 

Zeigler is being represented by Litson PLLC and Garza Law Firm. The complaint was filed Tuesday in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Tennessee, requesting a preliminary injunction to allow Zeigler to compete next season while pursuing graduate studies.

The suit also argues that being unable to play a fifth season also denies Zeigler the chance to “compete or earn NIL compensation during his fifth year — the most lucrative year of the eligibility window for the vast majority of athletes.”

Zeigler’s lawyers projected a fifth season to be worth between $2 million and $4 million based on analysis from Spyre Sports Group, the NIL collective the University of Tennessee works with.

“This valuation reflects the market value of an upperclassman with a proven performance record and high visibility,” the complaint stated, “especially in a high-profile conference like the SEC.”

Zakai Zeigler lawsuit argues against redshirt system in college athletics

Zeigler, who was not invited to the NBA Draft Combine or the NBA’s G League Elite Camp earlier this month, starred at Tennessee over the last four seasons, quickly becoming the face of the program. He averaged 11.3 points, 5.4 assists, 2.6 rebounds and 1.8 steals in 29.3 minutes per game over 118 career games at Tennessee.

The complaint points out that Zeigler would be eligible for a fifth season had he sat out during a redshirt season earlier in his Tennessee career. But redshirt decisions are made by coaches, not players:

“Through the redshirt system, NCAA institutions — not athletes — largely control who gets access to the fifth year of eligibility, strategically ‘banking’ eligibility for some athletes while denying it to others, without consideration, based purely on institutional preference and benefit. But, because Zeigler participated in athletics for four consecutive years, the NCAA bars him from representing his school in interscholastic competition in the fifth year of the competition window—and thereby excludes him from the market for NIL compensation.

“All NCAA athletes should be eligible to compete and earn NIL compensation during each year of the five-year window—not just those selected to redshirt. By prohibiting fifth-year competition for most athletes, including Zeigler, the NCAA eliminates the most experienced, productive, and highest-paid group of players from the labor pool, creating a substantial anticompetitive effect that furthers no academic purpose. And as a result, the market output—the product viewed by consumers—is harmed.”

Zakai Zeigler’s senior season: 13.6 points, 7.4 assists, 2.9 rebounds, 1.9 steals per game

Zeigler had a career year last season, averaging 13.6 points, 7.4 assists, 2.9 rebounds and 1.9 steals in 34.2 minutes per game while leading Tennessee to a second straight trip to the Elite Eight. 

During the season he became Tennessee’s all-time assists leader (747), single-season assists leader (257), the SEC’s single-season assists record holder and the first player in SEC history with 1,550 points, 700 assists, 350 rebounds and 250 steals. 

Zeigler’s class is the first after the COVID pandemic to not automatically get a fifth year of eligibility. Student-athletes affected by the pandemic — players that began their careers as far back as 2016 — were given fifth years. 

“To be clear,” the complaint read, “Zeigler does not challenge the overall five-year window, but rather the arbitrary four-year competition limitation within it. Indeed, permitting NCAA athletes like Zeigler to compete while pursuing graduate degrees in their fifth year of eligibility would further the NCAA’s purported academic mission far more effectively than other widely accepted NCAA practices like redshirting.

“Zeigler files this lawsuit to seek relief so that the NCAA be enjoined from enforcing the Four-Seasons Rule against him and permitting him to compete during the 2025-2026 basketball season while pursuing a graduate degree.”