NFL Draft Early Entrants Decline as NIL Changes the Game
The trend of fewer underclassmen entering the NFL Draft continues as NIL opportunities reshape college football
NFL, NIL, College Football, Draft, Underclassmen, Heisman, Ohio State, Colorado
Columbus: It’s pretty obvious that college football players are making more money now, which is why fewer of them are jumping to the NFL Draft early. It’s a big shift from what we used to see.
As we get closer to the January 24 deadline for players from Notre Dame and Ohio State to declare, we’ll likely see that number drop even more. Just a heads up, Ohio State tackle Josh Simmons has already put his name in the hat after an injury this season.
This year’s early declarations aren’t shocking. We’ve got the top two Heisman finalists, Travis Hunter from Colorado and Ashton Jeanty from Boise State, both expected to go high in the draft. They were juniors this past season.
Looking ahead to the 2025 NFL Draft, the top quarterbacks are Shedeur Sanders from Colorado and Cam Ward from Miami, both seniors now. The only QBs with eligibility left are Jalen Milroe from Alabama and Quinn Ewers from Texas.
Back in 2021, before NIL payments were a thing, a whopping 130 underclassmen declared for the draft. The next year, that number dropped to 73. It’s clear that the landscape has changed.
Even after the national title game, we’ll see more underclassmen declare, but the total will still be way lower than the pre-NIL days. Before NIL, the lowest number of early entrants was 99.
Here’s a quick look at some players who have declared early:
- RB LeQuint Allen, Syracuse
- TE Elijah Arroyo, Miami
- WR Elic Ayomanor, Stanford
- T Kelvin Banks, Texas
- LB Stone Blanton, Mississippi State
- RB Jaydon Blue, Texas
- WR Isaiah Bond, Texas
- G Tyler Booker, Alabama
- WR Luther Burden, Missouri
- LB Jihaad Campbell, Alabama
- T Will Campbell, LSU
- DE Abdul Carter, Penn State
- T Josh Conerly, Oregon
- DB Nick Emmanwori, South Carolina
- RB Trevor Etienne, Georgia
- QB Quinn Ewers, Texas
- G Dylan Fairchild, Georgia
- TE Harold Fannie, Bowling Green
- DT Joshua Farmer, Florida State
- TE Thomas Fidone, Nebraska
- TE Oronde Gadsden, Syracuse
- RB DJ Giddens, Kansas State
- WR Matthew Golden, Texas
- RB Ollie Gordon, Oklahoma State
- DT Mason Graham, Michigan
- DT Kenneth Grant, Michigan
- DE Mike Green, Marshall
- DB Maxwell Hairston, Kentucky
- RB Omarion Hampton, North Carolina
- DT Derrick Harmon, Oregon
- DB/WR Travis Hunter, Colorado
- DT Tyrion Ingram-Dawkins, Georgia
- RB Jordan James, Oregon
- LB Shemar James, Florida
- RB Ashton Jeanty, Boise State
- RB Kaleb Johnson, Iowa
- DB Will Johnson, Michigan
- T Emery Jones, LSU
- C Drew Kendall, Boston College
- LB Kobe King, Penn State
- TE Colston Loveland, Michigan
- LB Nick Martin, Oklahoma State
- RB Damien Martinez, Miami
- G Marcus Mbow, Purdue
- WR Tetairoa McMillan, Arizona
- T Armand Membou, Missouri
- WR Tristan Michaud, South Dakota
- QB Jalen Milroe, Alabama
- DT Walter Nolen, Ole Miss
- DB Jacob Parrish, Kansas State
- LB Chris Paul, Ole Miss
- DE James Pearce, Tennessee
- DT Jordan Phillips, Maryland
- RB Dylan Sampson, Tennessee
- DT TJ Sanders, South Carolina
- T Jonah Savaiinaea, Arizona
- LB Carson Schwesinger, UCLA
- DE Nic Scourton, Texas A&M
- T Josh Simmons, Ohio State
- DB Malaki Starks, Georgia
- DE Shemar Stewart, Texas A&M
- TE Mason Taylor, LSU
- DB Azareye’h Thomas, Florida State
- DB Malik Verdon, Iowa State
- DT Deone Walker, Kentucky
- LB Jalon Walker, Georgia
- T Cameron Williams, Texas
- DE Mykel Williams, Georgia
- C Jared Wilson, Georgia
- DB Kevin Winston, Penn State