The NFL Draft takes center stage, but it wasnβt always a primetime spectacle.
CHARLOTTE, N.C. β The NFL Draft is now a glitzy, must-watch event β but it started in a hotel conference room with no cameras.
Back in 1936, the first draft was held to give struggling teams a fair shot at top talent. There were no scouts, no agents β just team owners picking from newspaper clippings.
Only 24 of the 81 players selected even chose to play in the league. Many found regular jobs paid better.
As the game grew, so did the draft.
Teams formed scouting partnerships, and by the 1980s, they created the Combine βa centralized place to evaluate top college talent.
The draft also became a battle zone during the AFL-NFL rivalry with teams racing to sign players before their rivals could.
In 1980, the draft went prime time thanks to ESPN and itβs only gotten bigger. The 2019 draft broke records with more than 600,000 fans attending and nearly 50 million viewers.
From hotel lobbies to massive stadiums β the NFL Draft has become a show all its own.
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