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It’s still unclear if Trinidad Chambliss will get the chance to come back to another season at Ole Miss due to his ongoing eligibility dispute with the NCAA. He won’t be hurting for NIL deals if he does, but he may have missed out on a major one due to the uncertainty surrounding his future.
College football has no shortage of underdog stories involving overlooked players who ended up making a name for themselves, and it’s hard to think of a more notable example in recent memory than Trinidad Chambliss.
The Michigan native had a largely unremarkable career as a quarterback for his high school in Grand Rapids before taking his talents to Ferris State in 2021. He spent the vast majority of his first three years riding the bench at the Division II program before earning the starting job in 2024, and he found himself thrust into the spotlight after leading the Bulldogs to a 14-1 record and a national championship.
Chambliss picked up where he left off after transferring to Ole Miss ahead of last season. He ended up with 3,937 passing yards while throwing 22 touchdowns and adding another eight on the ground during a campaign that ended with a loss in the College Football Playoff quarterfinals, which, by most accounts, was the most successful season in the history of the program.
However, it may have also marked the end of his time in college. The NCAA has done everything in its power to prevent Chambliss from returning for another ride, and while he may land another year of eligibility, the dispute has already cost him a big opportunity on the endorsement front.
Trinidad Chambliss says he missed out on the cover of College Football 27 due to his eligibility fight with the NCAA
Chambliss got an NIL deal with AT&T last season, and if he’s allowed to come back for another season at Ole Miss, he’ll be looking at more endorsement opportunities on top of a revenue-share arrangement that would reportedly be worth north of $5 million.
However, his status is still up in the air. The QB petitioned the NCAA for a sixth year of eligibility last season while citing the respiratory issues he says prevented him from playing during his sophomore season at Ferris State, and he’s continued to fight for his right to play since the request was rejected.
In February, a judge in Mississippi granted him an injunction that gave him the green light to return, but the NCAA has pledged to appeal the ruling in a case that seems like it’s on a collision course for the state’s Supreme Court.
According to 247 Sports, Chambliss is now going after the governing body for costing him at least one lucrative sponsorship. An amended petition that was filed on Thursday asserts he was one of three players in the running to appear on the cover of College Football 27, the third installment of EA Sports’ rebooted video game franchise, but was dropped from consideration due to doubts about his status.
The previous iteration of that series featured former college players who’d made their way to the NFL, but the Supreme Court ruling that led to the games being resurrected made it possible for current ones to be compensated for appearing on the cover.
Quinn Ewers, Travis Hunter, and Donovan Edwards were selected for College Football 25, while Ryan Williams and Jeremiah Smith got the nod last year. It’s unclear how much the players who are selected earn for that honor, but it’s safe to assume it’s significantly more than the $1,500 flat fee given to the ones who opt in to appear in the title.
It’s also unclear who Chambliss was competing with for (or may have joined on) the cover, but top candidates likely include Arch Manning, Dante Moore, Malachi Toney, and fellow Ole Miss star Kewan Lacy.