Everything You Need to Know About the NFL Draft in Philly (Part 2)

As continued from yesterday’s post, here are more facts to help you learn about the NFL Draft, which will be held in Philly on April 27-29.

Are you ready for the NFL Draft? Brush up on your draft knowledge with these factoids.

Did you know that a player can refuse to play for the team he is drafted by? The most noteworthy example of it happening in recent history was with Eli Manning, who was unhappy at being drafted by the San Diego Chargers in the first pick of the first round of his year’s draft. He forced the Chargers to trade him to the New York Giants. He’s not the only one: legend John Elway pulled a similar move on the Baltimore Colts in 1983, forcing them to trade him to the Denver Broncos. Like Manning, Elway was a first-overall draft pick. For players who don’t have that first-round clout, however, refusing a draft means sitting out an entire season and re-entering the draft next year. That’s what Bo Jackson did, choosing to play a year of pro baseball before signing with the Oakland Raiders the next year.

For a college football player with NFL potential, an injury can be devastating. With the right (wrong) type of ailment, dreams of playing for the pros are crushed, along with the hefty salary that they would have received in the League. In recent years, some highly-ranked college players have insured themselves against injuries that would take them out of the NFL Draft, and out of football in general. Former Notre Dame linebacker Jaylon Smith collected on a loss of draft value policy he’d taken out, collecting $700,000. And that’s nothing. Louisiana State University standout Leonard Fournette, who is expected to be among the first five picks in this year’s draft, has a combined $10 million in total disability and draft loss insurance.

Today the NFL Draft is a multi-day, star-studded affair, but back when it was first conceived, the draft was a private, small affair. According to the Philadelphia Inquirer, “the draft was a desperate idea proposed by Philadelphia Eagles owner and future NFL commissioner De Benneville “Bert” Bell, who was looking for a way for his cash-strapped team to add talent to its roster. The idea was agreed upon by the entire league, which then had nine teams, and took place on Feb. 8 and 9, 1936, in the Ritz-Carlton hotel Bell owned.”

We’ve sure come a long way, baby!