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The NFL technically has two drafts during the offseason. There’s the official draft at the end of April and then a second, much smaller supplementary draft during the summer. To this point, the NFL hasn’t announced when it will host this year’s supplementary draft. Over the last two years, it was hosted on July 10 and July 11.
This year seems like a potentially unique supplemental draft. While it’s typically a blip on the the sporting calendar — we’ve seen just eight players drafted since 2010 — the coronavirus pandemic may end up bringing an increased emphasis to the event, if for no other reason than the fact that there might be no other sporting events taking place at that time.
Who typically enters?
It’s reserved for players who, due to unforeseen circumstances, won’t be eligible to play in the upcoming college football season. Though these prospects didn’t enter the original draft, they may have failed a drug test or received an academic suspension, and therefore can’t play. These players must apply to the NFL and be approved for eligibility for the supplemental draft.
How do teams select players?
The supplemental draft operates very differently than the official one. During the original draft, teams select players in slated draft spots (which they can trade) which are determined by their record in the previous season. In real time, the teams submit their picks to the NFL, and commissioner Roger Goodell announces that pick on live TV.
The supplemental draft has a much lower profile, largely because there are typically just one or two players drafted. The order is determined by a lottery after teams are divided into three groups: teams that won six or fewer games, teams that missed the playoffs but won seven or more games and teams that made the playoffs. Much like the NBA draft, teams with worse records have a greater chance of drawing a higher pick.
An NFL team places a bid — based on the round they’d like to select a player — and if they are awarded the prospect, the team forfeits their pick in that round in the following year’s draft. That’s why so few players, ultimately, are selected.
What impact will COVID-19 have on the draft?
It seems like just a matter of time before NCAA football begins to cancel or delay the season. If DI or DII levels begin altering their schedules, players may want to call it a college career and head to the NFL. But apparently, the NFL is making that complicated.
While stars like Clemson’s Travis Etienne, Ohio State’s Shaun Wade and Oklahoma State’s Chuba Hubbard could apply (and would likely go high in the supplemental draft), the NFL doesn’t intend to approve players impacted by the pandemic, according to Yahoo! Here’s what they’ve reported:
“But if the college football season is delayed, cut short or canceled altogether due to the coronavirus, that circumstance apparently will not meet the NFL’s threshold for allowing players to apply for draft entrance this summer rather than waiting for the 2021 selection process.”
Basically, if a player misses out on his 2021 season due to COVID, the NFL’s message is, as far as we can tell right now, “too bad.”
Doesn’t that seem a little unfair?
Yes. We’re talking about college sports, which make players work for free. It’s all very unfair.
So, do we think any of this might change?
Sure. Maybe. Why not? We’re in the midst of a global pandemic that has altered life significantly for everyone and every business — including college and pro football. We know many states — or counties within them — are moving to open back up, even as COVID-19 continues to spread. Meanwhile sports leagues are trying to figure out a way to move forward, without much consensus on how best to do that and keep everyone safe. This is unprecedented. What comes next will be, too.
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