How many times should one person be allowed to play Survivor?

There are now multiple people who have gotten to play Survivor four times. Should any of them become five-time players, or is four the limit?

Survivor: Game Changers actually set a new record when it comes to longevity in the game. Ozzy Lusth and Cirie Fields now sit atop the list of players with the most days in the game, and right behind them is the third member of the four-time players club, Boston Rob Mariano. Now, there’s a fourth member of that club — Rupert Boneham, who’s sixth on that list.

In 34 complete seasons of Survivor, having just four people play four times is not the worst ratio in the world. Additionally, those four players have some reputations in the game. (Whether or not they are actually good reputations is another argument entirely. I suspect we’ll have it this summer sometime.)

But if playing four times is possible, who’s to say that playing five times is beyond the pale? Do you think that Jeff Probst and production, if given the opportunity, would not have Boston Rob out on the island again, older and presumably even wiser? Can you say the same about Ozzy, who proved he could still play a magnificent physical game in just the last season? What about Cirie, whom nobody voted for when she went home? Rupert might even decide to come back as well, but a gut feeling tells us that his time is done after Blood vs. Water did not go so well for him.

However, Survivor is also sensitive to fans’ complaints. So here’s the pivotal question. How many times can we watch the same people try again and again for a million dollars?

This isn’t to say we should never have people play again. Returnees are basically part of the fabric of Survivor. The eighth season of the show — four years after Borneo burst onto the scene — was the first with returnees. It’s not going to go anywhere.

But what can go somewhere is a hard or soft cap on how many times people can play. Perhaps four times should be the limit. Even better is this: it should be reserved for the biggest players of the game (or at least those with the biggest reputations, to bring it back to my earlier point). Playing twice is still reasonably exclusive, considering that the Survivor wiki counts 69 two-time players. The three-timers’ club has 18 players so far. Then, as previously mentioned, four people have played four times.

Let’s keep it small, shall we? The show can clearly still find new people to play, with seasons 35 and 36 both featuring new players.

Next: The players we want to see back after Game Changers

Besides, the more seasons of newbies we have, the bigger pool we have for returning players. If someone breaks out, they should have a chance to come back.

It’s just that that should still mean something, and that’s why returnees shouldn’t get to return again and again…even if that doesn’t stop us from wanting to see some people again.