Record number of non-seniors leaving college for NFL draft

NEW YORK (AP)—Cam Newton and Nick Fairley of national champion Auburn are among 56 non-seniors who applied for April’s NFL draft—a record total, but only three more than last year.

The uncertainty surrounding the league’s labor situation does not appear to have had a significant effect on underclassmen opting to declare for the draft. The NFL released the list Wednesday, and it’s the fifth time in seven years that more than 50 players were granted what the league calls “special eligibility.”

There were 53 players in 2010 and 2008, the previous high; 52 in 2006; 51 in 2005.

 

Newton has nothing left to prove and these brothers frequently come from working class backgrounds where their families could use the help during this so-called "recovery."