While America’s major sports leagues have all relaxed its age requirements to enter its respective drafts, the NFL has been the most reluctant to reduce it.
To many, that is a credit to the NFL, which has faced court challenges (see Maurice Clarett) to its minimum age requirements for the draft.
That’s not to say it hasn’t evolved.
In 1990, the league relented a bit, reducing the minimum requirement of four years of college football to three. Today, players must be three years removed from high school.