The 2024 NFL Draft is the event that American football fans look forward to during the offseason, where teams have the opportunity to upgrade their roster to top prospects. What happens when a player doesn’t want to sign for the team that chooses him?
We don’t think this issue is a likely outcome for Caleb Williams, Jayden Daniels, Drake Maye and JJ McCarthy, who are top prospects this year, but could they decline his option?
When is the NFL Draft?
The 2024 NFL Draft is scheduled for April 25-27
- Thursday, April 25: Round 1 (8 pm)
- Friday, April 26: Rounds 2-3 (7 pm)
- Saturday, April 27: Rounds 4-7 (12 pm)
Why wouldn’t a player want to join a team?
There are several reasons why a player would not want to join a franchise that is looking to draft him. For example, since the team that gets the first pick is the one that performed the worst last season, a higher draft pick may prefer to go with a team with a better record. It could also just be a strong personal preference.
If players were given the option to choose which franchise to sign up with, the draft would likely take longer and would also defeat the purpose of giving underperforming teams a chance to bolster their roster, as athletes could choose to play with the winners.
As such, prospects are technically limited to the draft position they were assigned. So if a team picks him up, the franchise simply has the rights to sign him.
NFL Draft: What if the player doesn’t want to join a team?
If the player really doesn’t want to join the team that drafted him, he will have the option, in theory, to hold out and re-enter the draft the following year. This option, however, could mark him out to other potential suitors as someone with an attitude problem, and also cost the NFL a year’s salary.
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Bo Jackson took this route in the 1986 draft, when the Tampa Bay Buccaneers made him their number one pick. He refused to join the Buccaneers and decided to hold out, instead becoming a baseball player for the Kansas City Royals for one year. In 1987 he was drafted by the Los Angeles Raiders in the seventh round and became a baseball and football player.
The other option is to simply refuse to play for the team that drafted him and force a trade, as John Elway did in 1983 when he was drafted by the Baltimore Colts. In this case, he was adamant about not playing for the team, so Baltimore entered into talks with the Denver Broncos, which he joined and led to two Super Bowl championships.
2024-04-23 16:40:24
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