Who Is the Oldest Player Ever Drafted?

Most draftees are 21 to 23. Exceptions occur when a player serves in the military, plays another professional sport first, or returns to college football after years away.

Why It Happens

Eligibility requires only that a player be three seasons removed from high school. There is no upper age limit, and clubs have spent late-round picks on older prospects whose route to football was delayed.

Note: this database does not currently store dates of birth, so rather than guess at an exact ranking by age, none is published here.