26 players who never suited up for the teams that drafted them

John Elway, Bill Russell, Eli Manning, Dominique Wilkins are among the players never to suit up for the teams that drafted them.

John Elway

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The 1983 NFL Draft saw the Baltimore Colts draft John Elway, who wanted no part of the franchise. Elway held a news conference and declared his intention of playing baseball for the New York Yankees. The Colts couldn’t afford to call his bluff. They sent the future Hall of Famer to Denver in exchange for OL Chris Hinton, QB Mark Hermann, and a future pick, which the team used to draft OL Ron Solt.

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