Everything You Need to Know About the NFL Draft in Philly (Part 1)

With the 2017 NFL Draft just a couple of weeks away in Philadelphia, it’s time to get all you non-football-fans ready with a primer of just what the draft is, how it works, and why it’s important enough to snarl up traffic for almost a month ahead of time. The draft will take place April 27-29 on two major networks: ESPN and the NFL Network.

Workers construct a stage for the NFL Draft on the steps on the Philadelphia Art Museum in this photo. Do you know the basic facts about the draft? (MATT ROURKE / AP PHOTO)

The first thing you need to know is that the draft as an entertainment event is a phenomenon that has exploded in popularity over almost 40 years. Back in 1980, ESPN was a struggling, cash-poor network looking to make a turnaround. Chet Simmons, who was the president of ESPN at that point, approached his buddy of many years, NFL Commissioner Pete Rozell, and floated the idea of airing the annual college draft on national television. Rozell initially thought Simmons was crazy – the NFL Draft was a private, no-frills event held in a hotel ballroom. It was Simmons who had the idea to promote the draft and turn it into an event that fans would want to watch. Now it is the biggest televised football event behind the Super Bowl and opening day.

Nowadays, the NFL Draft is a three-day spectacle, spread over seven rounds during which each of the 32 teams in the NFL gets to make a pick. The order of selection goes by the teams’ previous-year rankings: the team with the worst record in the League goes first, while the Super Bowl winner goes last. During the first round, each team gets ten minutes to make their pick, write it on a note card, and hand it off to an NFL representative, who announces the pick. Everyone gets seven minutes on the second round, then five minutes on rounds three, four, five, and six. In the seventh round, teams get only four minutes to select a player. If a team misses their deadline, the next team gets to submit their pick and the clock resets. The team that missed their chance can still make a selection, however.

Tune in tomorrow to find out more fascinating facts about the NFL Draft!