How Many College Football Players are Currently Entering their 5th year ?

 I asked Grok: "How many current college football players are currently entering at least their fifth year?"

Here is what Grok said:

There is no precise, publicly available national total for the current (2026) season, but the number is in the thousands across all levels of college football, with a large share (likely well over 2,000) in FBS alone who are in at least their fifth year of eligibility/participation.**

Context on eligibility and why the number is high

- Traditional rules gave athletes four seasons of competition within a five-year window (often via redshirts). The COVID-19 extra year of eligibility, medical/hardship waivers, transfers, and other factors produced many sixth-, seventh-, and even eighth- or ninth-year players in recent seasons.

- In 2024, an AP report noted **hundreds of FBS players in their sixth season of eligibility and dozens in their seventh year or later**. Similar patterns continued into later seasons.

- Fifth-year players (classic redshirt seniors or those using a fifth season of competition) have long been common. Many “seniors” or graduates fall into this category.

- The National Football Foundation tracked a record ~3,695 graduates (already holding undergraduate degrees) playing college football in the 2025 season, including ~2,245 at FBS schools (averaging ~16 per team). Most of these are at least fifth-year players (some earlier graduates exist, but the bulk reflect extended careers). Similar figures applied in prior years.

Current landscape (2026 season)

- The NCAA adopted a new “5-for-5” (age-based) eligibility model in June 2026: generally five seasons of competition within a five-year window starting at full-time enrollment or the academic year after turning 19 (whichever is earlier). Redshirts and most injury/hardship waivers are largely eliminated going forward (limited exceptions for military service, religious missions, or maternity).

- Implementation is phased and complex. Current players with remaining eligibility can often choose the more favorable of the old or new rules. Athletes who completed a fourth season by spring 2026 generally do not get a retroactive extra year under the NCAA’s approach (though lawsuits and some state/federal court rulings have created temporary exceptions or patchwork eligibility for certain Class of 2022 players and others).

- Rosters still feature many fifth-year (and some sixth-/seventh-/eighth-year) players. Articles on 2026 “All-Geezer” teams, experienced Power conference rosters, and individual school depth charts confirm this. FBS has a 105-player roster limit (~138 teams), so total FBS players number in the mid-teens of thousands; a substantial minority are upperclassmen in year 5+.

Exact counts are not tracked comprehensively by the NCAA or major outlets in real time (rosters list class years inconsistently, and “fifth-year” can mean different things depending on redshirts, COVID years, or medical waivers). Individual team sites, On3, ESPN, or The Athletic sometimes break down eligibility by school, but no single aggregated national figure for “at least fifth year” exists for 2026.

In short: thousands of players league-wide are beginning (or are already in) at least their fifth year, driven by the lingering effects of prior extra-eligibility rules, even as the new 5-for-5 model starts to limit longer careers. 

Noteworthy: 

Trindad Chambliss is beginning his 6th year. Diego Pavia played six years.