The Tunsil thing is strange...

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In practice, the NCAA has handed down only two four-game suspensions to high-profile football players in the past five years, both from Georgia. In 2010, A.J. Green was forced to sit out the Bulldogs’ first four games after selling a jersey for $1,000, and last year Todd Gurley was docked four games at midseason for accepting $3,000 in cash over two years in exchange for autographs. In both of those cases, the NCAA formally announced the duration of the suspensions and set firm return dates after the first game served.

If necessary, the bylaws also give the reinstatement staff the authority to turn the screws a little tighter if it sees fit (emphasis added):

In addition, in cases where the impermissible prize money greatly exceeds $700, the committee directed the reinstatement staff to consider whether additional withholding, including permanent ineligibility, is appropriate.

The most recent high-profile case in which that clause applied involved the four Ohio State players (including quarterback Terrelle Pryor) who were docked five games apiece to open the 2011 season as punishment for selling championship rings, jerseys, and other memorabilia and for receiving discounted tattoos.

In that case, the fifth game was tacked on in exchange for allowing the suspended players to play in Ohio State’s next game, which happened to be the 2010 Sugar Bowl; the Buckeyes preferred to sit for an additional game the following fall, rather than miss a BCS bowl. The sanctions were announced publicly, more than eight months before they were served.3

Earlier in 2010, there was also the wide-ranging scandal that rocked North Carolina, in which 13 players were held out of the season opener for various violations. Of those 13, three (future draft picks Marvin Austin, Greg Little, and Robert Quinn) were eventually declared ineligible and booted from the team for allegedly accepting more than $5,000 apiece from agents and lying to investigators. Among the remaining players, the most severe suspension was given to cornerback Kendric Burney, who lost six games for allegedly accepting $1,333 from the same former UNC player who paid $1,000 for A.J. Green’s jersey. Again, Burney’s suspension (among others) was announced after two games. The following year, fallout from the Nevin Shapiro scandal at Miami resulted in a six-game suspension for defensive end Olivier Vernon, alleged recipient of $1,200 worth of meals, transportation, and so forth. His penalty, along with lesser Shapiro-related suspensions for teammates, was announced before the 2011 season opener.

The amount of money in those cases varies pretty significantly, as long as you ignore that even on the high end $5,000 doesn’t amount to life-changing graft. (We’re definitely operating on the scale of what college kids who have never had a real job think of as a lot of money.) What they all have in common is a relatively fast turnaround: Not one of the players mentioned above missed more than two games before he learned his fate. You could even argue that that’s two games too many.

What sets Tunsil’s case apart, and what makes it so maddening for everyone involved, isn’t just that he’s a headlining talent on a team with playoff potential, or that his absence has already surpassed all but the decade’s most egregious offenders over what seems like a fairly pedestrian violation. It’s the waiting.

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