Putting guys in the league is something all major college football programs want to be a part of in spades. The number of former players on current NFL rosters is a measure of success of coaching caliber and a source of pride but which colleges have been proven to be the best breeding grounds for NFL talent?
To discover which college and state is best at producing NFL talent, the experts at Betway analyzed the full rosters of every current NFL team, the total NFL Draft picks and hall of famers per college. Based on the analysis:
- Clemson has 37 active players earning a collective $720,111,440, 1 Hall of Famer and 288 NFL draft picks.
Tigers Also Rank High in Putting Players in the NFL
Alabama’s Crimson Tide ranks first on the list with 70 former student-athletes in the NFL and producing more pro players recently than other colleges.
Ohio State takes second, which has consistently turned out NFL Draft talent for decades, the Buckeyes saw 6 players go in the 2022 NFL Draft, and OSU has produced first-rounders in every event since 2015.
Home of top players like Joe Burrow, Ja’Marr Chase and Leonard Fournette, Louisiana State takes on the 3rd place on the list with almost 400 total NFL draft picks.
Emmitt Smith, Deacon Jones, Michael Irvin, Ted Hendricks, Larry Little, Jack Youngblood. What do these players and dozens of others all have in common? They are all from the state of Florida which ranks 7th overall with 43 active players in the NFL at the moment.
The 20 schools with the most active NFL players are as follows:
| Rank | College | Active Players | Earnings ($) | Total NFL Draft Picks | Number of NFL Hall of Famers |
| 1 | Alabama | 70 | 1,120,704,800 | 391 | 8 |
| 2 | Ohio State | 60 | 1,059,549,430 | 479 | 10 |
| 3 | Louisiana State | 58 | 1,054,408,700 | 369 | 6 |
| 4 | Georgia | 49 | 710,588,302 | 361 | 4 |
| 5 | Notre Dame | 48 | 630,599,890 | 522 | 13 |
| 6 | Michigan | 44 | 339,260,177 | 319 | 11 |
| 7 | Florida | 43 | 529,961,045 | 367 | 2 |
| 8 | Iowa | 40 | 472,702,055 | 268 | 5 |
| 9 | Penn State | 40 | 437,246,373 | 375 | 6 |
| 10 | Oklahoma | 38 | 636,168,096 | 409 | 5 |
| 11 | Clemson | 37 | 720,111,440 | 288 | 1 |
| 12 | Washington | 35 | 376,050,207 | 315 | 3 |
| 13 | Texas | 33 | 297,981,904 | 352 | 5 |
| 14 | California-Los Angeles | 32 | 394,540,355 | ||
| 15 | Wisconsin | 31 | 565,650,565 | 294 | 4 |
| 16 | Oregon | 30 | 360,242,978 | 230 | 6 |
| 17 | Texas A&M | 30 | 757,409,245 | 299 | 3 |
| 18 | Mississippi | 29 | 266,784,613 | 254 | 2 |
| 19 | Southern California | 29 | 524,368,423 | 537 | |
| 20 | Miami (FL) | 28 | 317,667,077 | 355 | 9 |