With the first pick of the 1936 NFL draft, the Philadelphia Eagles select Jay Berwanger, halfback, University of Chicago. The former Heisman Trophy winner and College Football Hall of Fame member never played a single snap in the NFL. 1936 not only marked the first draft in NFL history, it also marked the first time a player would holdout for more money, a negotiating tactic that rarely works in the league anymore. Bert Bell, Philadelphia’s owner, traded the rights of Jay to the Chicago Bears because he was afraid that he could not meet the demands of his request contract. George Halas, Bears owner, had about the same amount of luck negotiating. Jay demanded $15,000 per game, the biggest offer from Chicago was $13,500. Jay left the game and never played football again.
That’s the NFL Draft, a crazy place filled with scouting reports, backdoor deals, trades, rumors, debates, and surprisingly shocking moments like when 198 players were drafted before Tom Brady. Today we take a look back at the players who were selected much lower than you would have imagined. This is a chance to see some of the athletes that were passed on, team after team, round by round, until finally someone took the gamble on them. And it paid off.
Before you go all postal on us, here are the things we considered when selecting our list.
- Were they drafted? This isn’t going to be a list of undrafted players that made it big, that list will come out later this year. (Or when we have the time to put down our beers and turn off the Bears games)
- No one in the first three rounds should be considered a steal. (We agree)
- For every Dallas Cowboys player that makes the list, New York Giants fans will earn a free taco dinner courtesy of Jerry Jones. (Just go tell him to reimburse you)
That should be a good enough explanation that even the Atlanta Falcon fans will understand. Enjoy.
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