How Does The Nfl Draft Work A Quick Guide Nbc

Bonisiwe Shabane

-Jan 13, 2026, 8:18 AM

how does the nfl draft work a quick guide nbc

The NFL Draft is where the league's future stars make their entrance. So how does it work? The 2023-2024 NFL Season may be over, but that doesn't mean there's much time for the league's 32 teams to rest. In April, every team will once again come together for an annual event that helps determine everyone's future, and introduces the world to a series of future NFL stars: The NFL Draft. Watch Sunday Night Football on NBC and streaming on Peacock. RELATED: How Many NFL Teams Have Won Back-to-Back Super Bowls?

Yes, on the last weekend in April, teams will gather in Detroit, Michigan to select new players to join the league, setting the stage for another NFL season in which incoming rookies could make... We all know that being a number one draft pick is a big deal, and we also know the thrill of watching a player who seems to come from nowhere emerge late in the... But how does the Draft work? How do teams get picks? How does the league determine the order? Let's take a closer look at one of the year's biggest non-athletic sports events.

The NFL Draft has evolved into a major April sporting spectacle over the years. Fans of the NFL become intrigued by who the new players for their teams will be. There are even fans who now take in all three days of the event by attending each draft day. But as this year’s draft draws near, will the past format stay the same? Here’s a closer look at how the 2024 version will work. The league placed the draft in April because it represents the halfway point of the offseason.

The draft first began as a nine-round session in 1936 before expanding to 10 the following year. Then, during the 1940s, the league allowed as many as 32 rounds. But in 1994, the league opted to cut the rounds to seven — and this year marks the 30th year of the seven-round format. The motivation behind the change involved unrestricted free agency and the birth of the salary cap. The NFL draft, officially known as the Annual Player Selection Meeting,[1][2] is an annual event which serves as the most common source of player recruitment in the National Football League (NFL). Each team is given a position in the drafting order in reverse order relative to its record in the previous year, which means that the team with the worst record is positioned first and...

For teams that had the same record, their position in the draft order for each round rotates in some way amongst the teams with tied records. From this position, the team can either select a player or trade its position to another team for other draft positions, a player, or players, or any combination thereof. The round is complete when each team has either selected a player or traded its position in the draft. The first draft was held in 1936 and has been held every year since. Certain aspects of the draft, including team positioning and the number of rounds in the draft, have been revised since its creation, but the fundamental method has remained the same. Currently, the draft consists of seven rounds.

The original rationale in creating the draft was to increase the competitive parity between the teams as the worst team would, ideally, be able to choose the best player available. In the early years of the draft, players were chosen based on hearsay, print media, or other rudimentary evidence of ability. In the 1940s, some franchises began employing full-time scouts. The ensuing success of these teams eventually forced the other franchises to also hire scouts. Colloquially, the name of the draft each year takes on the form of the NFL season in which players picked could begin playing. For example, the 2010 NFL draft was for the 2010 NFL season.

However, the NFL-defined name of the process has changed since its inception. The location of the draft has continually changed over the years to accommodate more fans, as the event has gained popularity. The draft's popularity now garners prime-time television coverage. In the league's early years, from the mid-1930s to the mid-1960s, the draft was held in various cities with NFL franchises until the league settled on New York City starting in 1965, where it... In the early 1930s, Stan Kostka had an excellent college career as a University of Minnesota running back, leading the Minnesota Gophers to an undefeated season in 1934. Every NFL team wanted to sign him.

Kostka took advantage of the lack of a draft and held out for the highest possible offer. While a free agent, he even ran for Mayor of Inver Grove Heights, Minnesota. Although his political career did not take off, Kostka's nine-month NFL holdout succeeded and he became the league's highest-paid player, signing a $5,000 contract with the Brooklyn Dodgers on August 25, 1935. As a response to the bidding war for Stan Kostka, the NFL instituted the draft in 1936.[3] In late 1934, Art Rooney, owner of the Pittsburgh Steelers, gave the right of usage of two players to the New York Giants because Rooney's team had no chance to participate in the postseason. After the owner of the Boston Redskins, George Preston Marshall, protested the transaction, the president of the NFL, Joe F.

Carr, disallowed the Giants the ability to employ the players.[4] At a league meeting in December 1934, the NFL introduced a waiver rule to prevent such transactions. Any player released by a team during the season would be able to be claimed by other teams. The selection order to claim the player would be in inverse order to the teams' standings at the time.[4][5] The NFL Draft is one of the most strategic events in American sports, where 32 teams select new talent from college football. It blends competition, calculation, and chance. For beginners, the process may seem complicated, but once you grasp the order, rounds, and trades, it becomes clear how the NFL maintains balance each season.

The NFL Draft has seven rounds with 32 picks in each. The team with the worst record picks first, while the Super Bowl champion picks last. Teams can trade picks or players before and during the event. The 2024 NFL Draft begins April 25 in Detroit and helps weaker teams rebuild by selecting top college players. The draft is designed to keep the league competitive. Each of the 32 teams gets one pick per round across seven rounds.

The order is based on the previous season’s performance: the team with the worst record picks first, and the Super Bowl winner picks 32nd. This reverse-order system ensures that struggling teams have a chance to add top-tier talent and improve. The 2024 NFL Draft kicks off on April 25 in Detroit, Michigan. It’s a three-day event following months of scouting and evaluation. Before the draft, more than 300 college athletes attend the NFL Combine, held through March 4 at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis. There, players run drills such as the 40-yard dash, complete physical tests, and meet with team scouts and coaches.

These evaluations help teams decide who fits their needs best. Draft order is determined by team performance, but trades can change everything. Picks can be exchanged for players, future draft selections, or both. In 2023, the Chicago Bears traded their No. 1 overall pick to the Carolina Panthers for wide receiver DJ Moore and four draft picks spread across three drafts. Because the Panthers finished last in the 2023–24 season, the Bears now hold the No.

1 pick in 2024—a move that paid off strategically. Which team will go first? How long does each team have to make its pick? Who is eligible to be drafted? The NFL has specific rules for each part of the draft process. Joe Burrow was selected in the first round with the first overall pick of the 2020 NFL Draft.

(AP/Emilee Chinn) Bart Starr, Deacon Jones, Terrell Davis and Tom Brady also have at least two things in common: They too are among the league’s biggest stars, and they were selected in late rounds of the... The annual NFL Draft gives the teams the opportunity to infuse their rosters with new talent. Some players will provide an instant boost to the team that selects them; others won’t. But the chance that drafted players will lead their new clubs to glory makes teams compete over talent, whether in the first round or the last. The NFL Draft has changed as the league has grown in size and popularity.

Competition for star players, both external (between the NFL and upstart leagues) and internal (among the league’s clubs), has led the league to regularly alter the draft and implement new rules and regulations to... It’s a system used within most American professional sports where professional teams take turns choosing new players to add to their squad. Firstly, the draft system ensures young athletes earn an education and time for their bodies to mature before turning professional. Every athlete applying to play in the NFL must have enrolled in college for at least three seasons before playing professionally. Secondly, the Draft brings a sense of equality to the sport. It prevents a free-for-all of teams attempting to sign the best prospects without restriction, inevitably leading to a sustained disparity among teams.

Essentially, the draft limits the rich-get-richer scenario we often see in other sports. The NFL Draft has exploded in viewing figures and general popularity in the 21st Century. In 2020, the draft reached a total of more than 55 million viewers over the three-day event, according to an NFL press release.

How Does The Nfl Draft Work A Quick Guide Nbc

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