Number of NFL Draft early entrants continues to decline in NIL era

It’s very clear that football players’ ability to make money in college means fewer underclassmen are declaring early for the NFL Draft.

That number will grow by Jan. 24. That’s the deadline for Notre Dame and Ohio State players to declare early for the draft. The declaration deadline for anyone not playing in the national title game was Jan. 15. Ohio State tackle Josh Simmons has already declared for the draft after suffering an injury earlier this season.

The list of players declaring early this year isn’t much of a surprise and includes the top two Heisman finalists. Colorado DB/WR Travis Hunter is expected to be a top-five pick after winning the Heisman and Boise State RB Ashton Jeanty could also be a first-round pick. Both players were juniors in 2024.

The top two quarterbacks in the 2025 NFL Draft, Colorado’s Shedeur Sanders and Miami’s Cam Ward, were both seniors in 2024. The only QBs entering the 2025 NFL Draft with eligibility remaining are Alabama’s Jalen Milroe and Texas’ Quinn Ewers.

In 2021, the last football year before players could earn money via name, image and likeness payments, 130 underclassmen declared for the draft. The following year, 73 players declared early.

More than three underclassmen from both national title game teams will declare early in the days after the game, but the total number of early entrants will still be far lower than it was before NIL. In the four seasons before NIL payments were allowed, the lowest number of early entrants was 99.

Here’s a not-quite-complete list of the 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…

Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/number-of-nfl-draft-early-entrants-continues-to-decline-in-nil-era-212721696.html

Author : Yahoo Sports

Publish date : 2025-01-16 21:27:00

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