NFL Players By College – What College Has The Most NFL Players?

We gathered data on every player to ever appear on an active NFL roster and determined the most NFL players by college.

Did you know that 25,000+ players have played in an NFL game?

Here are the 2023 most NFL players by college as of NFL Week One 53-man rosters. For the seventh season in a row, the University of Alabama has the most players in the league.

NFL Players By College – 2023

SCHOOLPLAYERS
Alabama57
Ohio State47
Georgia46
LSU43
Michigan38
Notre Dame39
Clemson37
Florida34
Penn State33
Oklahoma32
Texas30
Iowa29
Auburn28
USC26
Oregon25
Stanford25
Washington25
Mississippi24
Texas A&M23
Wisconsin23
Miami The U22
UCLA22
Tennessee21
TCU21

(Related: List of All NFL Teams | NBA Players By College)

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 Kickoff Weekend roster. The Crimson Tide also placed the most active NFL players on season-opening rosters in 2018 (44), 2019 (56), 2020 (53) and 2021 (54), and shared the league lead in 2017 (39).

 SCHOOLPLAYERS
Alabama58
LSU52
Ohio State52
Georgia44
Notre Dame37
Penn State35
Florida33
Michigan33
Oklahoma32
Iowa31
Clemson29
Texas26
Washington26
Wisconsin26
Auburn24
Miami The U24
UCLA24
South Carolina23
Stanford23
Tennessee23
Texas A&M23
  
  
  

NFL Players By College – 2021

FBS SCHOOLPLAYERS
Alabama53
Ohio State47
LSU43
Georgia35
Notre Dame34
Clemson33
Iowa33
Florida32
Michigan32
Oklahoma31
Penn State31
Texas26
Miami (Fla.)25
UCLA24
Washington24
Florida State23
Texas A&M23
USC23
Stanford22
South Carolina21
Wisconsin21
Auburn20
Mississippi State19
Oregon19
NC State18
Temple18
Utah18
Missouri17
Nebraska17
Tennessee17
Pittsburgh16
Virginia Tech16
Arkansas15
Boston College15
Oklahoma State15
Kentucky14
TCU14
Baylor13
North Carolina13
Ole Miss12
Rutgers12
Texas Tech12
California11
Colorado11
Duke11
Houston11
Illinois11
Maryland11
Memphis11
Oregon State11
Purdue11
Vanderbilt11
West Virginia11
Boise State10
Louisville10
Michigan State10
Minnesota10
UCF10
Virginia10
Kansas State9
SMU9
Western Michigan9
Arizona State8
BYU8
Cincinnati8
Indiana8
Northwestern8
Utah State8
Arizona7
Central Michigan7
Florida Atlantic7
Fresno State7
Louisiana Tech7
Syracuse7
Toledo7
Wyoming7
Appalachian State6
Colorado State6
Georgia Southern6
Georgia Tech6
Old Dominion6
San Jose State6
Tulane6
Connecticut5
Marshall5
San Diego State5
South Florida5
Southern Mississippi5
Wake Forest5
Washington State5
Western Kentucky5
Buffalo4
Kansas4
Northern Illinois4
Rice4
East Carolina3
Eastern Michigan3
Iowa State3
Massachusetts3
Miami (Ohio)3
Middle Tennessee State3
Nevada3
North Texas3
UTEP3
Arkansas State2
Army2
Ball State2
Florida International2
Georgia State2
Louisiana2
Ohio2
Troy2
Tulsa2
UAB2
Akron1
Bowling Green1
Coastal Carolina1
Hawaii1
Kent State1
Navy1
New Mexico1
South Alabama1
Texas State1
UNLV1
UTSA1

For 2020 updated as of Week One and based on the 53-man roster, here are the top 10 colleges that have produced the most NFL players:

Alabama56
Ohio State50
LSU41
Florida39
Georgia32
Penn State32
Oklahoma29
Clemson29
Notre Dame29
Iowa, Florida State, Washington28
Stanford, Texas A&M27

This study includes data points and insights for every franchise, as well as the league as a whole. Here are some takeaways:

– Notre Dame has produced more NFL players than any other college, with 520 athletes going on to play in the NFL.

– Notre Dame, USC, Ohio State, and Oklahoma are the schools with the most NFL players in history and the only colleges who have produced 400+ NFL players.

– Alabama lead 2019 rosters with 56 players. As for end of season 2018 rosters, Alabama also led the way with 53 players making it to the NFL.

– In terms of players by decade, the NFL relied heavily on schools from the Midwest such as Notre Dame and Minnesota in the 50s and 60s. The focus shifted west to USC in the 70s and 80s before settling into a varied approach that has seen schools from the Midwest, California, and the Southeast regularly headlining NFL rosters over the last 30 years.

NFL Players By College – Overall Top 10 All-Time

(As of 8/22/23)
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

What College Has The Most NFL Players – 2019

  1. Alabama – 53
  2. LSU – 51
  3. Ohio State – 46
  4. USC – 44
  5. Miami – 43
  6. Florida – 43
  7. Florida State – 42
  8. Clemson – 37
  9. Tied – Penn State, Oklahoma, Auburn – 33

Finally, GCU broke out every player by position and school to find which schools have produced the most players at specific positions for every NFL team.

Using traditional offensive and defensive formations as the guide, they were able to create a unique starting lineup of college football teams, using their logos as stand-ins.

Here is another area where Notre Dame’s influence is readily apparent, as they are the top school at seven of the 24 positions evaluated, including key positions such as quarterback and running back.

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