U.S. Senate Adds ‘Legacy Rule’ to Allow Andre Carter II to Join NFL Draft Before Army Service

The U.S. Senate quickly jumped to work to add a “legacy rule,” changing the new provision that would have prevented military athletes, including Andre Carter II, from going pro before entering into their military service.

The recently passed National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) changed the rules governing athletes from the Army, Navy, and Air Force, preventing them from joining the coming NFL Draft or otherwise going into professional sports until after they fulfilled their five years of service in the military.

This immediately eliminated Carter, one of the standout players for the 2022 college football season and thought to be a top pick in the coming NFL Draft.

The new NDAA contains language stating that an “agreement by a cadet or midshipman to play professional sport constitutes a breach of service obligation.” The new law adds, “The cadet may not obtain employment, including as a professional athlete, until after completing the cadet’s commissioned service obligation.”

However, after news broke about how devastated Carter and his family were over his sudden predicament, the Senate jumped into action to add a provision that would grant waivers to all military athletes who began their academy training before 2021, ESPN reported.

The new language revealed on Tuesday morning reads that the recently passed amendment in the NDAA “shall only apply with respect to a cadet or midshipman who first enrolls in the United States Military Academy, the United States Naval Academy, or the United States Air Force Academy on or after June 1, 2021.”

This latest bipartisan amendment is not quite set in stone but is attached to the Omnibus Appropriations Measure that could be signed into law as early as Friday.

Carter’s parents have already issued a statement thanking the Senate for taking action.

“Thank you to the members of congress who stepped up, spoke out and worked expeditiously in support of Andre and other service academy cadets and midshipmen who made decisions in reliance on the 2019 policy allowing deferral of service,” Carter’s parents wrote. “The goodness we saw in people this past week will forever be imprinted upon us.”

If drafted into the NFL, Carter will satisfy his military service upon completion of his NFL career.

At issue is a 2019 order that President Donald Trump signed to allow standout military athletes to defer their military service and to be able to go pro right after graduating from the academy.

The new NDAA canceled that rule, maintaining that our academies are meant to train military leaders, not professional football players.

Follow Warner Todd Huston on Facebook at: facebook.com/Warner.Todd.Huston, or Truth Social @WarnerToddHuston