SEC defensive player of the year twice, Zakai Zeigler, is fighting the NCAA to play for the fifth time in five years.

Zakai Zeigler, a two-time defensive player of the year in the SEC, is suing the NCAA for prohibiting him from playing more than four seasons in a five-year period, claiming that this is an illegal restraint of commerce under both federal and Tennessee law.

The U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Tennessee received Zeigler’s case on Tuesday. Before leaving earlier this month, the point guard spent four seasons at Tennessee, leading the Volunteers to back-to-back Elite Eight berths.

During Zeigler’s tenure with the school, the Vols finished 109-36. This season, which concluded on March 30 with Tennessee’s defeat to eventual national runner-up Houston in the Elite Eight, saw Zeigler named to the third team of the All-American team.

“A patchwork of different state laws, executive orders and court opinions, make it challenging for any league to operate on a fair playing field, including at the conference level and that’s why partnering with Congress to develop a national standard would provide stability for student-athletes and schools everywhere,” the NCAA said. This latest lawsuit against the NCAA notes Zeigler “diligently completed his undergraduate degree in four years” and graduated this month.

That makes Zeigler’s lawsuit different from athletes who started careers at junior colleges or lower-division NCAA schools and are seeking a fifth season. Yet the NCAA rule limiting athletes to four seasons during a five-year window keeps Zeigler from playing a fifth season and earning NIL money in “the most lucrative year of the eligibility window for the vast majority of athletes,” according to the lawsuit. How much could Zeigler could earn in a fifth season with the Vols?

The lawsuit says between $2 million and $4 million for 2025-26, given his record and visibility playing in the Southeastern Conference and based on projections from the Spyre Sports Group, the NIL collective associated with the university. Athletes who redshirt or take five years to finish an undergraduate degree can earn NIL money each of their five years. The lawsuit also points to the NCAA’s redshirt system controlling who gets access to a fifth year of eligibility. The lawsuit asks that the NCAA rule be declared a violation of Section 1 of the Sherman Act and Tennessee’s Trade Practices Act.