On this day in 1935, the NFL made a significant decision that didn’t only impact football, but the entire sports world. As Hall of Famer (and NFL.com analyst) Gil Brandt points out on Twitter, the league “adopted an annual draft of college players” on May 19th, 1935.
There were several events that led up to this decision. For starters, collegiate players were initially allowed to sign with any NFL team, leading to a free-for-all that’s not too different than modern free agency. Specifically, Eagles co-owner Bert Bell found that these prospects were simply opting for the most lucrative deal, and if money was equal, the player would land with the more accomplished, competitive franchise. As a result, teams like the Bears and Packers generally recruited the top collegiate players.
There was also the matter of Stan Kostka, who had a standout campaign for the Minnesota Gophers during the 1934 season. The running back ended up waiting for the highest-possible offer, and after a nine-month “holdout” (which also included an unsuccessful campaign to be the mayor of Inver Grove Heights, Minnesota), Kostka ended up landing a league-leading $5,000 deal (we swear, that’s not a typo) with the Brooklyn Dodgers.
This move infuriated Bell, who believed the NFL would ultimately fail if teams were allowed to simply buy the best prospects. So, on May 18th, 1935, the Eagles co-owner proposed a rookie draft. Bell touted that a draft would help increase parity, and he believed this would have a vicarious impact on the league’s financials. The next day, the league unanimously voted to adopt a draft starting with the 1936 season.
Of course, NFL teams didn’t have the scouting resources that they do now; in fact, NFL teams didn’t even have scouting departments. Organizations were required to randomly submit the names of college seniors, and these players would then be inserted into the draft pool. If a team selected a player, they were allowed to exclusively negotiate with the prospect. If a deal couldn’t be reached, the organization had the ability to trade the rookie. If neither a contract nor a trade materialized, the NFL was allowed to step in and arbitrate a settlement between the two sides. This ended up being relevant for the 1936 Draft, as only 24 of the 81 selections proceeded to play in the NFL that season.
In a not-so-ironic twist, the Eagles (and Bell, the architect of the draft) landed the first-overall selection of the inaugural event. The organization selected halfback Jay Berwanger, but after unsuccessfully negotiating with the prospect, Philadelphia traded his rights to the Bears. Berwanger didn’t sign with Chicago, either, and the first pick of the first draft ultimately never played a snap in the NFL.
Of course, who knows if Berwanger would have followed this same path had he been allowed to sign with any NFL team. There were surely some pundits who pointed to Berwanger and criticized the draft for alienating prospects. However, without the decision made 85 years ago today, the NFL (and sports as a whole) would look a whole lot different.
Even in 1935, Philly people were grumpy! Cool story to a fun part of the league.
Too bad it took MLB 30 years to realize the same payroll disparity was prevalent in their association as well
Bert Bell decided an unconstitutional form of slavery was preferable to allowing players to seek their true market value. What a sweetheart.