We gathered data for every player appearing on an active NFL roster and identified the colleges producing the most NFL players. Did you know that more than 25,000 players have participated in an NFL game? Here are the 53-man rosters for the first NFL week of 2023 with the most NFL players by college. For the seventh consecutive time, the University of Alabama has the most players in the league.
NFL Players by College – 2023
SCHOOL PLAYERS
Alabama 57
Ohio State 47
Georgia 46
LSU 43
Michigan 38
Notre Dame 39
Clemson 37
Florida 34
Penn State 33
Oklahoma 32
Texas 30
Iowa 29
Auburn 28
USC 26
Oregon 25
Stanford 25
Washington 25
Mississippi 24
Texas A&M 23
Wisconsin 23
Miami 22
UCLA 22
Tennessee 21
TCU 21
NFL Players by College – 2022 (as of NFL Week 1)
For the sixth consecutive season, Alabama had the most or tied for the most players (58) on active NFL rosters for the NFL Kickoff Weekend. The Crimson Tide also had the most active NFL players in the season opening line-ups in 2018 (44), 2019 (56), 2020 (53), and 2021 (54), and tied for the top spot in 2017 (39).
SCHOOL PLAYERS
Alabama 58
LSU 52
Ohio State 52
Georgia 44
Notre Dame 37
Penn State 35
Florida 33
Michigan 33
Oklahoma 32
Iowa 31
Clemson 29
Texas 26
Washington 26
Wisconsin 26
Auburn 24
Miami 24
UCLA 24
South Carolina 23
Stanford 23
Tennessee 23
Texas A&M 23
This study includes data points and insights for each franchise as well as the league as a whole. Here are some key findings:
– Notre Dame has produced more NFL players than any other college, with 520 athletes later playing in the NFL.
– Notre Dame, USC, Ohio State, and Oklahoma are the schools with the most NFL players in history and the only colleges to produce more than 400 NFL players.
– Alabama led the rosters in 2019 with 56 players. As for the rosters at the end of the 2018 season, Alabama also led with 53 players making it into the NFL.
In terms of player numbers per decade, the NFL heavily relied on Midwestern schools like Notre Dame and Minnesota in the 50s and 60s. In the 70s and 80s, the focus shifted westward to USC, before transitioning to a diverse approach, with schools from the Midwest, California, and the Southeast regularly headlining NFL rosters in the last 30 years.
NFL Players by College – All-Time Top 10 (as of 22.08.23)
1. Notre Dame – 520
2. USC – 516
3. Ohio State – 473
4. Oklahoma – 402
5. Michigan – 387
6. Alabama – 384
7. Penn State – 367
8. Florida – 364
9. Nebraska – 363
10. LSU – 359
Which college has the most NFL players – 2019
Alabama – 53
LSU – 51
Ohio State – 46
USC – 44
Miami – 43
Florida – 43
Florida State – 42
Clemson – 37
Tie – Penn State, Oklahoma, Auburn – 33
Finally, the GCU has broken down each player by position and college to find out which schools have produced the most players at specific positions for each NFL team. Based on traditional offensive and defensive formations, they were able to compile a unique starting lineup of college football teams and use their logos as substitutes. This is another area where the influence of Notre Dame is evident, as they are the top school in seven out of the 24 rated positions, including key positions such as quarterback and running back.