The National Football League draft is an annual sports draft in which NFL teams select newly eligible players for their rosters. To be eligible, a player must be out of high school for at least three years. Each NFL franchise seeks to add new players through the annual draft. The draft rules were last updated in 2009. The team with the worst record the previous year picks first, the next-worst team second, and so on. Teams also have the option to trade with another team to move up to a better draft position. Teams that did not make the playoffs are ordered by their regular-season record, with any remaining ties broken by strength of schedule. Playoff participants are sequenced after non-playoff teams, based on their round of elimination (wild card, division, conference, and Super Bowl).[1]
From 1947 through 1958 the first selection was awarded by a random draw. The team which received this "bonus" pick forfeited its selection in the final round of the draft. The winner of the "bonus pick" was eliminated from the draw in future years. By 1958 all twelve clubs in the league at the time had received a bonus choice and the system was abolished.[2][3]
Before the merger agreements in 1966, the American Football League (AFL) directly competed with the NFL and held a separate draft. This led to a massive bidding war over top prospects between the two leagues, along with the subsequent drafting of the same player in each draft. As part of the merger agreement on June 8, 1966, the two leagues held a multiple round "common draft". Once the AFL officially merged with the NFL in 1970, the "common draft" simply became the NFL draft.[4][5][6] The draft is one of the most notable events in American sports, with live broadcasts of it produced by ESPN, Fox and ABC.[7]
Through the 2024 NFL draft, 89 players have been selected first overall, with the most recent being Caleb Williams. The Indianapolis Colts and Los Angeles Rams have each made the most first overall selections in history with seven. Of the first overall draft picks, 43 have been selected to a Pro Bowl and 14 have been inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
- ^ Clayton, John (2009-03-26). "Draft order to change for playoff teams". ESPN. Archived from the original on 2010-02-18.
- ^ Zimmer, John; Marini, Matt, eds. (2013). Official 2013 National Football League Record & Fact Book (PDF). New York: National Football League. p. 525. ISBN 978-1-603-20980-9. Retrieved October 11, 2013.
- ^ "Draft History: 1940's". Pro Football Hall of Fame. Archived from the original on October 1, 2013. Retrieved October 16, 2013.
- ^ Cross, B. Duane (January 22, 2001). "The AFL: A Football Legacy". Sports Illustrated. Archived from the original on December 17, 2009. Retrieved June 9, 2010.
- ^ "NFL History by Decade: 1961–1970". National Football League. Archived from the original on 2007-02-05. Retrieved June 9, 2010.
- ^ "Time Changes for 2008 NFL Draft". National Football League. 2008-04-22. Archived from the original on 2012-10-26. Retrieved June 9, 2010.
- ^ "NFL draft: Baker Mayfield picked No1 as Shazier makes emotional appearance". The Guardian. April 27, 2018. Archived from the original on April 27, 2019. Retrieved April 27, 2019.