The NFL draft has turned into the main attraction of the NFL offseason. Every April, millions of fans tune in for 3 days of live television coverage of what equates to over 250 names being read off a card.
Each draft pick represents hope for fans, analysis for draft experts and something for the media to hype up for the upcoming season. The NFL draft is a huge deal and an important part of successful team building.
The draft, just like the NFL scouting combine, has come a long way from its inception in 1936. We look back at its history and how it became a spectacle that you can even bet at the top NFL sportsbooks.
The Origin Story of the NFL Draft
Leave it to a running back to be involved in the story of the creation of the NFL draft, back in the 1930s. Running back Stan Kostka led the University of Minnesota to an undefeated season in 1934, so all the NFL teams were interested in signing him. Without a draft, he could wait for the highest bidder to call.
Kostka waited 9 months for the bidding war to work out, and he even ran (unsuccessfully) for Mayor in a city in Minnesota during that time. Finally, the Brooklyn Dodgers made Kostka the highest-paid player in the NFL at $5,000 in August 1935.
A bidding war by NFL owners for @GopherFootball star Stan Kostka in 1935 caused NFL owners to initiate the #NFLDraft in 1936.
Stan’s record-setting $5,000 contract exceeded the pay of other players, even stars like Bronko Nagurski.
Stan starred for @SSP_PackFtball, too. pic.twitter.com/M4gOm9PSst
— Joe Atkins (@commishatkins) April 28, 2022
The NFL saw this bidding war and quickly put together a draft for 1936. Kostka’s career lasted just 9 games and he ran the ball 63 times for 249 yards, never scoring a touchdown. Consider it another case of NFL teams overvaluing a running back.
No Salary Cap
Without a salary cap in place, it was easy for the same few teams who were willing to spend the most money to gobble up all the elite talents. This is why the 1920s and 1930s were largely dominated by a few teams like the Chicago Bears, Green Bay Packers and New York Giants.
Bert Bell, co-owner of the Philadelphia Eagles, was aware of this disparity between the franchises. After he was unable to draw Kostka to his team, he proposed the league adopt a draft to help with parity and make sure every team had a shot to be competitive and financially viable. His proposal on May 18, 1935 was accepted that day.
This is how Bert Bell traveled in 1935 to try and sigh Stan Kostka. When he didn’t the NFL draft was born. https://t.co/dDbHJgVrgl
— Michael Lombardi (@mlombardiNFL) June 28, 2022
The draft was organized by having the teams submit a list of college seniors they were interested in and to put those names into a talent pool for eligibility. Teams would then select from this pool in inverse order of their record from that season.
As fate would have it, the 1935 Eagles finished last with a 2-9 record, so they held the 1st pick in the 1st NFL draft in 1936, which happened to be hosted in Philadelphia that year.
Today, anyone can have a “big board” on their computer filled with hundreds of prospects they have personally scouted. But in 1936, teams did not even have scouts yet. They had 90 names on a blackboard in a meeting room to pick from.
Trivia Time
Here’s some good trivia every die-hard football fan should know: Halfback Jay Berwanger was the 1st Heisman Trophy Winner in 1935 and the 1st draft pick in NFL history in 1936.
However, instead of having a remarkable football legacy, he’s largely forgotten since he won the Heisman a year before they renamed it the Heisman Trophy in 1936. It was called the Downtown Athletic Club Trophy in 1935.
Here’s video of the very first Heisman Trophy winner in action, Jay Berwanger of the Univ. of Chicago. #99 in your program!
Berwanger’s coach, Clark Shaughnessy, who is seen (and heard) was FIRST coach to have the quarterback place his hands underneath the center for the snap! pic.twitter.com/9zhuA8QmDZ
— Sports is History (@SportsbyBrooks) December 14, 2019
As for the NFL, Bell’s Eagles were unable to meet Berwanger’s salary demand of $1,000 per game, so they traded his rights. The University of Chicago prospect was unable to work things out with the Chicago Bears and George Halas too, so he passed on an NFL career and never played a game.
In total, 81 players were drafted in 1936 over 9 rounds. Only 28 of the players drafted that year actually went on to play a game in the NFL, including 4 Hall of Famers:
- Joe Stydahar
- Tuffy Leemans
- Wayne Millner
- Danny Fortmann
The draft was off and running from this point. Sammy Baugh was drafted No. 6 overall by Washington in 1937, and he had an incredible career as the first truly great passer in professional football. But he also went to a team that just lost the NFL Championship Game, and helped lead them to the title as a rookie, proving that parity was still a long way off. A team like Philadelphia needed another decade to start winning in 1947.
Still, the teams with bad records had a way to acquire top talent now.
Post-World War II Improvements (1946-59)
Following World War II, there were big advancements in professional football that would change the game forever. The Rams hired Eddie Kotal in 1946 to become the 1st full-time player scout in the NFL. Kotal would travel the country and scout college players, a practice that became commonplace among every team.
At the same time, the AAFC started as a rival league to the NFL with teams like the Cleveland Browns and San Francisco 49ers, who would later be absorbed into the NFL in 1950.
Making History
Paul Brown was the legendary coach of the Browns, and he created many aspects of game planning and scouting opponents. He also was not afraid to break the color barrier by adding and playing African American players on his team.
In 1946, Marion Motley and Bill Willis played for the Browns in the AAFC, the 1st Black players to play in professional football. This was months before Jackie Robinson debuted for the Brooklyn Dodgers to break the color barrier in Major League Baseball.
76 days ‘til 2024 @NFL Draft at Detroit, MI. And primary # of @ProFootballHOF RB Marion Motley, Pro Bowler in 1950, 2-time All-Pro, AAFC’s all-time leading rusher (w/ #Browns), 4-time AAFC champion, 1950 #NFL champion pic.twitter.com/vjSqnpi9jF
— Russell S. Baxter (@BaxFootballGuru) February 9, 2024
A sign of the country at the time, the NFL was slower to allow the integration of Black players in the game. George Taliaferro became the first Black player drafted in NFL history in 1949 when he was taken in the 13th round by the Bears. He opted to play in the AAFC in 1949 instead, but that league folded after that season as it could not compete with the NFL.
Meanwhile, the draft started expanding in the 1940s, in part to compensate for the war, with some drafts featuring 32 rounds and up to 330 players selected.
Growing League
After absorbing 3 teams from the AAFC, the 1950 NFL draft featured 30 rounds and 391 players selected. Holding drafts in January was common at this time, but for the 1956 NFL draft, the first 3 rounds were actually held on November 28, 1955, and the last 27 rounds took place in January 1956. This practice took place the next several years as the teams wanted to compete better with Canada.
That was also the 10th year in which the No. 1 pick was considered a bonus pick determined by a lottery. The previous 9 winners were ineligible from the draw. This practice continued through 1958 when the 12th and final team (Cardinals) was awarded the No. 1 pick after not winning the lottery in any previous year.
But expansion was soon coming to the NFL in the 1960s.
The AFL and the Creation of the Common Draft (1960-79)
The 1960s would shake up the NFL more than arguably any other decade. The AFL was a rival league that started play in 1960 with real talent and franchises that would become known to fans later as the Raiders, Chiefs, Broncos and Jets.
The 1960 NFL draft was a game changer and sign of things to come as half the players taken in the 1st round went to the AFL instead, including No. 1 pick running back Billy Cannon. The AFL had their own draft that year and picked names out of a box for it. The 1960 NFL draft also dialed back a bit with just 20 rounds and 240 player selections.
For another interesting bit of trivia, even though the Dallas Cowboys were given an NFL franchise for the 1960 season, that happened in January. The 1960 NFL draft took place in November 1959, so the Cowboys did not get to enter the NFL draft until the 1961 season. Even though Dallas had the worst record in the NFL in 1960, the newly founded Minnesota Vikings were given the No. 1 overall pick in 1961. They used it on running back Tommy Mason.
September 18, 1966#Skol #ForTheShoe
Johnny Unitas (14-22-241-4-2) becomes the #NFL TD passing 👑 surpassing Y.A.Tittle’s 212.#Vikings start with the ball, Tommy Mason (15-94-1 1-17) gets things going with a 52 yard TD rush.#1966ColtsVikingsThread#UnitasTDRecordThread pic.twitter.com/KuY5sRJSfz— Old Time Football 🏈 (@Ol_TimeFootball) November 1, 2020
The 1964 NFL draft still holds the record for most Hall of Famers selected with 11, including Bill Parcells, who was inducted as a coach. Here is the full list of Hall of Famers from the 1964 NFL draft:
- WR Paul Warfield
- WR Charley Taylor
- QB Roger Staubach
- RB Leroy Kelly
- CB Mel Renfro
- SAF Paul Krause
- LB Dave Wilcox
- OT Bob Brown
- DE Carl Eller
- WR Bob Hayes
- Bill Parcells (inducted as coach)
Turning Point
A turning point in the NFL vs. AFL battle came in the 1965 draft when the St. Louis Cardinals did not seal the deal on Alabama quarterback Joe Namath, who joined the Jets in the AFL as football’s highest-paid player.
In June 1966, the NFL and AFL agreed to a merger, including the start of the Super Bowl era later that season. But it also included the agreement of a common draft to start in 1967 instead of the leagues having competing drafts.
In 1967, the 1st common NFL draft took place as a 2-day event in March. After the merger of leagues officially went through in 1970, the 1970 NFL draft featured 17 rounds and 442 players selected.
Incredible technology on display here at the 1967 NFL Draft … pic.twitter.com/74LBsKU5Nu
— Super 70s Sports (@Super70sSports) March 24, 2020
In the 1971 NFL draft, Falcons coach Norm Van Brocklin caused a stir in the 17th round when he asked if the team wanted the “roughest, toughest S.O.B. in the draft” before drafting 64-year-old actor John Wayne from “Fort Apache State.” NFL commissioner Pete Rozelle rejected that hilarious pick.
The Pittsburgh Steelers made history in a 1974 NFL draft that was already unique in that no quarterbacks were drafted in the first 2 rounds (only matched by 1988). But the Steelers became the only team to draft 4 Hall of Famers in the same class when they found wide receivers John Stallworth and Lynn Swann, linebacker Jack Lambert, and center Mike Webster.
This day in #PGHistory: The Pittsburgh Steelers have what is considered to be the greatest NFL Draft of all-time.
Drafting four Hall-of-Famers within the first five rounds, the Steelers selected the likes of: Lynn Swann, Jack Lambert, John Stallworth, and Mike Webster. (1974) pic.twitter.com/6ZjMaGN1uO
— Pittsburgh Clothing Co. (@PGHClothingCo) January 29, 2018
The 1976 NFL draft was the last one to feature 17 rounds as the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Seattle Seahawks joined the NFL that year. The 1976 draft also coined the phrase “Mr. Irrelevant” for the final player selected, a moniker that Brock Purdy, San Francisco’s 2022 selection at quarterback, has become known for.
In 1977, the draft shrunk to 12 rounds, which would be the new status quo through the 1992 season. There was also a supplemental draft for the 1st time that took place after the normal draft for players who missed the deadline or had other issues that would prevent them from being in the common draft.
The NFL Draft Is a TV Hit (1980-2004)
ESPN launched in September 1979 as a 24/7 sports station. They had the bright idea of broadcasting live draft coverage starting with the 1980 NFL draft. Rozelle did not expect it to be compelling TV, but he agreed to the coverage and this helped build up the draft for TV viewers.
In 1988, the draft was moved from the weekdays to the weekend, which helped ratings soar. There were also some pivotal drafts in that decade, including the famed 1983 class that featured quarterbacks John Elway, Jim Kelly, and Dan Marino. Between Elway’s refusal to play for Baltimore, who had the No. 1 pick, and Marino’s slide in the draft down to Miami at No. 27, it made for compelling TV.
May 2, 1983 — 40 years ago today, the Denver Broncos pulled off one of the greatest trades in NFL and all of sports history by acquiring the draft rights to QB @johnelway! Here are some news clips reporting on the trade, the team’s official announcement, and remarks from Elway. pic.twitter.com/Y1iW88bkr0
— Mile High Moments (@MileHighMoments) May 2, 2023
In fact, you could argue there was not another quarterback class like it until 2004 when Eli Manning forced a trade with the No. 1 pick from San Diego to the Giants, which involved quarterback Philip Rivers. Ben Roethlisberger also was in that class with the No. 11 pick.
The ESPN broadcasts of the draft did help fans get more knowledgeable and prepared for the drafts in the 1980s. There was also increasing hype over college prospects at the time. Sports Illustrated ran an infamous cover for offensive lineman Tony Mandarich, calling him the best offensive line prospect ever.
Mandarich was drafted No. 2 overall by Green Bay in 1989. He proved to be a massive bust and steroid user while the rest of the players taken in that top 5 (quarterback Troy Aikman, running back Barry Sanders, linebacker Derrick Thomas and cornerback Deion Sanders) all made the Hall of Fame.
But ESPN’s coverage of the draft over the years led to the popularity of draft analyst Mel Kiper Jr., who had the hair for TV and enough personality to keep things interesting for the fans at home.
Kiper infamously called out the Indianapolis Colts for selecting linebacker Trev Alberts over quarterback Trent Dilfer in 1994, which prompted this classic response from Colts’ GM Bill Tobin:
Twenty seven years ago today, after the great Mel Kiper Jr. criticized the Colts’ pick of LB Trev Alberts over QB Trent Dilfer, my work partner @mortreport got the most memorable sound byte in draft history from former Colts’ GM Bill Tobin. pic.twitter.com/RJbaKQ9fQ9
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) April 24, 2021
The 1994 draft was also notable for being the first draft to have 7 rounds, which has remained the standard ever since.
In the 1999 NFL draft, the New Orleans Saints traded all of their picks to Washington to draft running back Ricky Williams. It did not pan out, and head coach Mike Ditka was fired after the season.
In the 2000 NFL draft, Michigan quarterback Tom Brady infamously fell to No. 199 to the Patriots in the 6th round, making him the biggest draft steal in history. To make it stand out even more, this was a draft class where a kicker (Sebastian Janikowski) was drafted No. 17 before the 1st quarterback (Chad Pennington at No. 18) was taken.
The 2003 NFL draft had an infamous moment in the 1st round that was tailor-made for TV when the 15-minute clock expired on the Minnesota Vikings, who were in trade talks with their No. 7 pick. Since the clock expired, the next teams up were able to get their picks in ahead of Minnesota.
Jacksonville drafted quarterback Byron Leftwich, Carolina drafted offensive tackle Jordan Gross and the Vikings finally got their pick in at No. 9 with defensive tackle Kevin Williams. It was embarrassing, but at least Williams proved to be the best player of the 3 and one of the best in the draft class.
The NFL Draft Breaks the Internet (2005-Present)
The 2005 NFL draft was a good example of why this has been a successful TV broadcast over the years.
California quarterback Aaron Rodgers was expected to be a high pick, but after Utah quarterback Alex Smith went No. 1 overall to San Francisco, there was a long wait for Rodgers in the green room.
ESPN caught every agonizing moment of the wait for Rodgers, who finally went No. 24 to Green Bay and the rest is history.
21 Teams Pass on Aaron Rodgers at the 2005 NFL Draft. pic.twitter.com/eF7lAQYbcP
— CLIPS (@yourclipss) November 26, 2023
For the 1st time in 2006, NFL Network got in on the live draft broadcasting fun, giving EPSN another competitor. Over time, NFL Network would build up its own version of Mel Kiper with the likes of Mike Mayock and Daniel Jeremiah. ESPN also added more draft experts such as Todd McShay to give Kiper some help during the grueling multi-day broadcast of all 7 rounds.
The 2010 NFL draft was a game changer as it provided the format we see today with the 1st round on a Thursday night, rounds 2-3 on Friday night, and rounds 4-7 on Saturday afternoon. The move worked well as 7.3 million watched the 1st round, the most viewers ever for the draft.
But that 2010 draft class, led by No. 1 overall pick quarterback Sam Bradford, also led to some changes in the NFL when the new collective bargaining agreement was signed in 2011. It introduced a rookie wage scale, so players taken at the top of the draft were no longer paid elite money immediately before they proved themselves.
Last Decade
In the 2014 NFL draft, defensive end Michael Sam became the first openly gay player drafted to the NFL when the Rams took him in the 7th round.
For the 2015 NFL draft, the venue was changed to Chicago after New York had hosted every draft since 1965. This would become a new trend as the host city has continuously changed over the last decade. This allowed for some humorous moments like in 2017 when former Dallas wideout Drew Pearson trolled the local Philadelphia fans at the draft held in Philly:
Drew Pearson’s very deserving resumé as a newfound HOF’er
– 3x All-Pro
– 1970s All-Decade team
– Super Bowl XII champion
– Cowboys Ring of Honor member
– the original Cowboys’ No. 88
– caught the original Hail Mary
– made the best NFL draft selection speech in league history pic.twitter.com/Odzc18FB0D— David Helman (@davidhelman_) February 7, 2021
The 2017 NFL draft was also the 1st time compensatory picks were allowed to be traded, which helped lead to a record 37 trades during the draft. This record was surpassed in 2019 with 40 trades. Compensatory picks are awarded to teams by a secret formula for when they lose more players to free agency than they gained in the previous year.
In 2018, defenders Terrell Edmunds and Tremaine Edmunds made history as the 1st pair of siblings to be drafted in the same 1st round.
Due to COVID-19, the 2020 NFL draft was held remotely with NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell announcing picks from his home. Things have returned to normalcy in the last few drafts with a plethora of broadcast options to watch from ESPN, ABC and NFL Network.
In addition to the broadcast itself, the rise of blogs, sports sites, and social media in the last 20 years has led to an excessive amount of draft coverage available online. People start working on their mock draft as soon as this year’s draft ends, so there is always content available for people interested in the draft.
It has without a doubt become one of the NFL’s most famous events.
