Football Players From These Colleges Make the Most Total NFL Money
Powerhouses such as Alabama, Clemson, Lousiana State University and Ohio State have dominated the college football scene the past few years, racking up nine of the past 10 national championships between them.
But does that success translate to the next level, especially financially? After all, students go to college to set themselves up for their careers and future success, right?
Read: The Top 5 Richest College Football Programs
GOBankingRates looked at which colleges’ players have the most lucrative NFL careers. We calculated total active players, total earnings and looked at the top active earner from each school.
Read on to see which colleges produce players that make the most total NFL money.
Last updated: April 12, 2021
24. Nebraska
Active Players: 26
Total Earnings: $354,961,380
Top Earner: Ndamukong Suh
Top Earning Position: DT
Top Earner’s Career Earnings: $155,965,157
% Top Earner makes of Total Earnings: 43.94%
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23. Tennessee
Active Players: 34
Total Earnings: $357,846,860
Top Earner: Jason Witten
Top Earning Position: TE
Top Earner’s Career Earnings: $81,807,482
% Top Earner makes of Total Earnings: 22.86%
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22. Iowa
Active Players: 35
Total Earnings: $389,468,005
Top Earner: Riley Reiff
Top Earning Position: LT
Top Earner’s Career Earnings: $58,119,222
% Top Earner makes of Total Earnings: 14.92%
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21. Michigan State
Active Players: 23
Total Earnings: $406,728,278
Top Earner: Kirk Cousins
Top Earning Position: QB
Top Earner’s Career Earnings: $140,640,630
% Top Earner makes of Total Earnings: 34.58%
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20. Stanford
Active Players: 33
Total Earnings: $410,823,317
Top Earner: Richard Sherman
Top Earning Position: CB
Top Earner’s Career Earnings: $82,735,115
% Top Earner makes of Total Earnings: 20.14%
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19. Notre Dame
Active Players: 39
Total Earnings: $435,435,417
Top Earner: Golden Tate
Top Earning Position: WR
Top Earner’s Career Earnings: $56,337,672
% Top Earner makes of Total Earnings: 12.94%
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18. Mississippi State
Active Players: 35
Total Earnings: $447,137,404
Top Earner: Fletcher Cox
Top Earning Position: DT
Top Earner’s Career Earnings: $85,890,246
% Top Earner makes of Total Earnings: 19.21%
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17. Texas A&M
Active Players: 32
Total Earnings: $452,977,771
Top Earner: Von Miller
Top Earning Position: OLB
Top Earner’s Career Earnings: $126,475,534
% Top Earner makes of Total Earnings: 27.92%
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16. Purdue
Active Players: 13
Total Earnings: $455,282,219
Top Earner: Drew Brees
Top Earning Position: QB
Top Earner’s Career Earnings: $269,710,422
% Top Earner makes of Total Earnings: 59.24%
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15. Pittsburgh
Active Players: 20
Total Earnings: $460,438,181
Top Earner: Larry Fitzgerald
Top Earning Position: WR
Top Earner’s Career Earnings: $180,719,110
% Top Earner makes of Total Earnings: 39.25%
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14. Clemson
Active Players: 36
Total Earnings: $474,764,490
Top Earner: DeAndre Hopkins
Top Earning Position: WR
Top Earner’s Career Earnings: $85,699,009
% Top Earner makes of Total Earnings: 18.05%
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13. Oklahoma
Active Players: 35
Total Earnings: $475,818,988
Top Earner: Trent Williams
Top Earning Position: LT
Top Earner’s Career Earnings: $108,305,694
% Top Earner makes of Total Earnings: 22.76%
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12. Southern California
Active Players: 34
Total Earnings: $486,780,675
Top Earner: Tyron Smith
Top Earning Position: LT
Top Earner’s Career Earnings: $87,785,235
% Top Earner makes of Total Earnings: 18.03%
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11. Florida State
Active Players: 36
Total Earnings: $514,213,168
Top Earner: Rodney Hudson
Top Earning Position: C
Top Earner’s Career Earnings: $61,514,448
% Top Earner makes of Total Earnings: 11.96%
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10. Wisconsin
Active Players: 34
Total Earnings: $515,413,652
Top Earner: Russell Wilson
Top Earning Position: QB
Top Earner’s Career Earnings: $162,362,520
% Top Earner makes of Total Earnings: 31.50%
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9. South Carolina
Active Players: 29
Total Earnings: $538,020,412
Top Earner: Johnathan Joseph
Top Earning Position: CB
Top Earner’s Career Earnings: $85,134,743
% Top Earner makes of Total Earnings: 15.82%
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8. Michigan
Active Players: 41
Total Earnings: $610,806,900
Top Earner: Tom Brady
Top Earning Position: QB
Top Earner’s Career Earnings: $261,791,804
% Top Earner makes of Total Earnings: 42.86%
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7. Florida
Active Players: 48
Total Earnings: $614,725,678
Top Earner: Joe Haden
Top Earning Position: CB
Top Earner’s Career Earnings: $114,471,755
% Top Earner makes of Total Earnings: 18.62%
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6. Miami (FL)
Active Players: 40
Total Earnings: $695,904,597
Top Earner: Calais Campbell
Top Earning Position: DE
Top Earner’s Career Earnings: $118,068,828
% Top Earner makes of Total Earnings: 16.97%
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5. Ohio State
Active Players: 58
Total Earnings: $720,507,427
Top Earner: Cameron Heyward
Top Earning Position: DT
Top Earner’s Career Earnings: $78,232,735
% Top Earner makes of Total Earnings: 10.86%
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4. California (Berkeley)
Active Players: 27
Total Earnings: $800,350,104
Top Earner: Aaron Rodgers
Top Earning Position: QB
Top Earner’s Career Earnings: $240,914,529
% Top Earner makes of Total Earnings: 30.10%
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3. Alabama
Active Players: 68
Total Earnings: $831,911,428
Top Earner: Julio Jones
Top Earning Position: WR
Top Earner’s Career Earnings: $103,126,564
% Top Earner makes of Total Earnings: 12.40%
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2. Georgia
Active Players: 46
Total Earnings: $835,239,299
Top Earner: Matthew Stafford
Top Earning Position: QB
Top Earner’s Career Earnings: $226,478,969
% Top Earner makes of Total Earnings: 27.12%
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1. LSU
Active Players: 52
Total Earnings: $837,998,969
Top Earner: Andrew Whitworth
Top Earning Position: LT
Top Earner’s Career Earnings: $98,865,000
% Top Earner makes of Total Earnings: 11.80%
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Methodology: GOBankingRates used Spotrac’s NFL College Tracker data to find the 24 colleges that turned out players that make the most total NFL money. For each of these colleges, GOBankingRates found the following data points: (1) university name; (2) total active players in the NFL; (3) total career earnings from these players, (4) top career earner from each school; (5) top earner’s career earnings; and (6) percent top earner’s career earnings make of the (3) total career earnings for the school. All data was collected on and up to date as of Jan. 20, 2021.
This article originally appeared on GOBankingRates.com: Football Players From These Colleges Make the Most Total NFL Money
