In its early days, the NFL was far from the well-oiled machine it is today. The league was often engulfed in chaos, especially during player recruitment. Teams engaged in a free-for-all, attempting to outbid each other, leading to frequent bidding wars. This chaotic system, where deep-pocketed teams tried to cripple their opponents by outspending them, resulted in many uneven matchups and was far from the fair and balanced system we see today.

Eventually, the NFL decided to do something about it. You see, future commissioner Bert Bell had an ingenious idea for leveling the playing field, reducing the chaos, and thereby improving the enjoyability of the games. The teams would draft players instead of bidding on them, and the weakest teams would get the first pick. That is, the team that finished last in the previous season picked first, the team that finished second to last picked second, and the prior year’s champions picked last. Trading would be allowed after the drafts.

On February 8, 1936, a historic event occurred at the Ritz-Carleton Hotel in Philadelphia- the first-ever NFL draft. Representatives from various teams gathered to participate in this groundbreaking event. Jay Berwanger, the University of Chicago’s first Heisman trophy winner, was the first player to be selected in this new system. He was also the first player to be traded in the draft, moving from the Eagles to the Bears. However, due to the modest salaries in football at the time, Berwanger chose not to compete in the NFL, opting for a more financially rewarding career elsewhere.