Judge rules NFL can't restrict age of players

NEW YORK -- A federal judge opened the door for Ohio State sensation Maurice Clarett and teenage football stars to turn pro, declaring Thursday that an NFL rule barring their eligibility violates antitrust law and "must be sacked."

U.S. District Judge Shira Scheindlin said legal issues are so clearly in Clarett's favor a trial is unnecessary. The NFL said it will appeal, and it will probably try to block the ruling before the April draft.

Clarett sued the league last year to challenge its 1990 rule that a player must be out of high school three years to enter the draft.

Clarett's lawyer, Alan Milstein, called it a "total victory." He said the star running back was "thrilled" and would speak at a news conference in New York later Thursday.

Jeff Pash, the executive vice president of the NFL, said the ruling left him "really surprised" but confident on appeal because its findings contradicted those of past court rulings.

The ruling, if it holds up on appeal, means that high school football players and college underclassmen will be able to make the jump to the pros just like their counterparts in the NBA.

Scheindlin wrote that the NFL rule "is precisely the sort of conduct that the antitrust laws were designed to prevent."

"One can scarcely think of a more blatantly anticompetitive policy than one that excludes certain competitors from the market altogether," she wrote.

Clarett, a 20-year-old sophomore, played just one season at Ohio State, leading the Buckeyes to the 2002 national championship. He was barred from playing in the 2003 season for accepting improper benefits from a family friend and then lying to investigators about it.