NFL Draft

A Look Inside The NFL Draft

Where do National Football League (NFL) teams get their players? Professional NFL football teams don't just drive around looking for big guys to play. Nor do they accept resumes from players applying for the job. Player acquisition is done through a rigorous process called the NFL draft. The NFL draft is more officially known as the NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting. The more common name is the NFL draft, and here is a brief look at what goes on behind the scenes of the draft.

During the NFL draft, NFL teams take turns selecting college players and other eligible first-time players. The NFL holds the draft in New York City. Most football fans know that much. What they may not know are the NFL draft rules that govern how and when teams can pick certain players.

A player must have been out of high school for at least three years before being eligible for the NFL draft. Many college players make themselves available for the NFL draft after 3 years of college. Drafted players that choose not to sign a contract are known as hold-outs. Hold-outs can enter the NFL draft again the following year.

The NFL draft consists of seven rounds, or seven opportunities to choose players. Each team is assigned the round in which they are eligible to pick players. The team that picks first in the NFL draft is the team that had the worst regular season record the previous season. The team with the next to worst record gets the second pick, and continues in this manner.

This trend continues until the Superbowl teams of the previous season are reached. The team that lost the Superbowl gets the next to last pick. The Superbowl winner gets the last pick. This gives bad teams the opportunity to better themselves by selecting first from among the best candidates.

It seems that players picked first in the NFL draft generally command the highest salaries. This can vary by team and playing position. A quarterback might expect a higher salary than a punter or a lineman. Certain teams might also offer substantial signing bonuses to entice players to sign a contract once drafted.

Each team in the NFL draft has 15 minutes to make their selection in the early rounds. This time interval shrinks during the later rounds. Teams that fail to make a selection within the allotted time may still select players later. However, teams with late NFL draft picks risk having their potential players picked by another team.

There are many rules of the NFL draft not discussed here. One famous (or infamous) tradition is to declare the very last player chosen to be called "Mr. Irrelevant." There is a certain amount of comic celebrity or notoriety associated with being chosen last in the NFL draft. One might guess, however, that any football player feels lucky to be chosen in the NFL draft, even if picked last.

My Favorite Superbowl Commercial - NFL Ad - Chester Pitts

NFL News:

NFL Alumni open new HQ with focus on retirees
The NFL's newly reorganized Players Alumni Association officially opened its new headquarters Wednesday night with a focus on the needs of its retired players and their health. National Football League - NFL - Football - sport - Retirement..

Texans look for big boost inside the 20
Texans coaches had a brief vacation between organized team activities and training camp, but offensive coordinator Rick Dennison spent most of his time studying film and tweaking his playbook...

Broncos rookies Tebow, Thomas miss second training camp practice
Defensive linemen Jeff Stehle and Ben Garland hit the pads during defensive drills today at Dove Valley...

Plenty of job battles for Dolphins
The Miami Dolphins finally have the go-to receiver they've long sought. They're set at quarterback with second-year starter Chad Henne, and Jake Long returns to anchor the offensive line...

Broncos' deal to sell jersey ads arrives at Dove Valley
Brady Quinn, with an advertisement on his chest, stretches before practice Thursday at Dove Valley...

SPORTSbyBROOKS » Jay Glazer, Daryl Johnston Joining NFL Network
Early Wednesday John Ourand of SportsBusiness Journal reported on Twitter, "I'm hearing that NFL Network hired Fox's Jay Glazer and Daryl Johnston for their studio show. Both will stay on Fox, to...

NFL.com Blogs » Blog Archive Owens will wear signature No. 81 for .
NFL Network's Warren Sapp donned his reporter cap Wednesday, and after speaking with Antonio Bryant (who has briefly owned the number after signing in Cincinnati this offseason) broke the news on EURœNFL Total Access.EUR ...

Technorati Tags: NFL, A Look Inside The NFL Draft, NFL Draft