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.

The NFL released the almost-official list of underclassmen eligible for the 2025 NFL Draft on Tuesday. Ahead of Monday’s College Football Playoff national championship game between Notre Dame and Ohio State, 70 players declared early for the 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.

2025 NFL Draft early entrants

• 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