Ranking Big Ten teams by how many former players made NFL rosters

Minnesota is rising up the Big Ten with former players in the league.

Dec 17, 2023; Jacksonville, Florida, USA; Baltimore Ravens wide receiver Rashod Bateman (7) celebrates after the game against the Jacksonville Jaguars at EverBank Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jeremy Reper-USA TODAY Sports / Jeremy Reper-USA TODAY Sports

Every NFL roster has been cut down to 53 players and there are 18 former Golden Gophers on NFL rosters. It looks like an impressive total on paper, but where does that rank compared to NFL players other Big Ten programs are producing?

With the addition of former Pac-12 schools Oregon, UCLA, USC and Washington, the Gophers rank 11th of 18 Big Ten teams in terms of number of players in the NFL entering the 2024 season. Ohio State leads the way by a wide margin with 50 former players in the league, while Indiana is at the bottom with only seven.

1. Ohio State: 50
2. Michigan: 39
3. Penn State: 34
4. Washington: 32
5. Iowa: 30
6. USC: 30
7. Oregon: 30
8. Wisconsin: 26
9. UCLA: 26
10. Illinois: 24
11. Minnesota: 18
12. Maryland: 18
13. Purdue: 13
14. Michigan State: 12
15. Nebraska: 11
16. Rutgers: 10
17. Northwestern: 8
18. Indiana: 7

All four new West Coast teams rank inside the top 10, so in the old 14-team conference, Minnesota would've been at No. 7, which is notable considering the Gophers have put more players in the NFL in recent years than Purdue, Michigan State, Nebraska, Rutgers, Northwestern and the Hoosiers.

P.J. Fleck placed an emphasis on developing NFL talent when he took over the Gophers in 2017 and it's starting to pay dividends. They recruit against programs like Purdue, Northwestern and Michigan State and they can now use the fact that they produce more NFL players in hopes of landing more commitments.

From 1990-2010, the Gophers struggled producing NFL players and it hurt their brand. Now heading into Year 8 under Fleck, the program's reputation has improved.