The early signing period for 2019 college football prospects runs from Wednesday, December 19, through Friday, December 21. The date of National Signing Day in 2019 is February 6, 2019. Some of the nation's best recruits will sign a national letter of intent to play for the school of their choosing during the early signing period. All schools have the ability to negotiate with these recruits before they can be signed by another team. In 2018, over $100 million was pledged by colleges and universities to recruit athletes. That's up from about $60 million in 2009. Almost all major sports have adopted some form of early signing day. Baseball and basketball have been doing so for several years now. Football remains one of the only major sports that doesn't have an early signing day.