Report: ‘Rolling Signing Day’ concept that would allow recruits to sign early being vetted

The world of recruiting is ever-changing thanks to the ebbs and flows of the NIL era. Aug. 1 was viewed as a critical date for the 2026 cycle, as committed prospects were able to receive contracts from their schools, outlining the deals they had verbally agreed upon beforehand.

Those deals are not able to be signed just yet, though. The December signing period continues to loom large, but will that always be the case? There is a push to allow recruits to sign those contracts as soon as they receive them.

On Friday morning, ESPN’s Pete Thamel reported that a new concept has been brought to light: a “Rolling Signing Day.” The idea remains in its infancy, but it would expedite the signing process, allowing recruits to ink with a school once they’ve signed their agreement.

“The idea: Recruits can currently receive written contract offers on Aug. 1 heading into their senior year. Currently, they can’t formalize the agreements with schools until the December signing period, which means the deals aren’t binding. That leaves uncertainty on both sides,” Thamel wrote on X.

“The idea of a Rolling Singing Day would mean that when an offer is accepted by a recruit, they can sign an agreement that’s binding by both parties.”

The 2025 cycle saw the elimination of the National Letter of Intent, which previously was the golden ticket on National Signing Day. That was replaced by a new binding financial aid agreement and revenue share contract. This would now take the next step and eliminate the short windows in December and February for those agreements to get signed, instead opening things up once contracts get delivered at the beginning of August.

The idea of prospects being able to sign early is an intriguing one, but it could carry some concerns, too, according to On3’s Pete Nakos.

“The idea of a reinvented National Signing Day has been tossed around plenty in recent years. The first step in that process was eliminating the National Letter of Intent a year ago. Plenty of head coaches and general managers would welcome a binding document that athletes sign in August,” Nakos said. “But the other risk I’ve heard plenty about is what if you want to drop a recruit after watching their senior year tape? But from the standpoint of being able to execute rev-share contracts earlier than December or February, that would be a welcomed change to some.”

With the concept still just that, Thamel said “it’s uncertain whether it will rise through football channels, the Implementation Committee or the new NCAA governance model.” Like anything else in this era, there would be plenty of wrinkles to iron out as the idea fleshes out.

“This proposal would really provide more questions than answers and might confuse everyone involved in this, from the players to the coaches, agents and especially the fans,” said Rivals’ national insider Adam Gorney. “Would players feel pressured to get into rev-share deals faster with schools? I think coaches might love it, because they can lock in guys before others can out-bid. What happens when a coach leaves? These are questions that need answers. Does this concept benefit anyone other than coaches that basically just wouldn’t have to deal with bargaining and rev-share anymore?”