Professional football (gridiron) oldest existing professional football club is the Arizona Cardinals, a current member of the National Football League. The Cardinals organization, which was originally based on Racine Street in Chicago, has operated near-continuously since 1913, but counts an earlier team that played from 1898 to 1906 as part of its history. The Watertown Red & Black is the oldest semi-professional club, tracing its history to 1896. While the practice of professional and semi-pro teams playing college and amateur teams was common in the 1890s, the Amateur Athletic Union began pressuring and threatening college teams with the loss of amateur status if
Ball State Cardinals football depicts several cornstalks in tribute to the prevalence of maize around the respective home states of the rivals. Northern Illinois holds a 24–20–2 lead in the series through the 2018 season. Ball State has produced a total of 27 NFL draft selections. The following "Active" and "All-Star" lists account for past and present Ball State University football players that have participated in the National Football League, the Canadian Football League, and the Arena Football League. As of December 2017, there are a total of 2 Cardinals listed on team rosters in the NFL, CFL, and AFL. Among the numerous Cardinals