For the fourth consecutive year, the NFL has announced that there will be no supplemental draft in 2024. This decision comes after two players who were eligible for the draft last year went undrafted, and the event did not take place in 2020, 2021, or 2022. The supplemental draft is designed to allow players who have faced a change in eligibility to enter the NFL if they are ruled ineligible for the college season after the regular draft has taken place. To be eligible, players must be at least three years removed from high school and can apply through the league office.
The supplemental draft consists of seven rounds, with teams divided into three groups based on their performance in the previous season. The groups are determined by the number of wins and whether or not they made the playoffs. Teams submit bids for players, and the team highest in the draft order who submits a bid for a player in the earliest round gets to select that player. If a team does select a player in the supplemental draft, they forfeit their pick in the same round of the following year’s regular draft.
In recent years, there has been some debate about whether or not to continue holding the supplemental draft. Some argue that it gives an unfair advantage to teams with more resources and access to information about potential draftees. Others believe that it provides opportunities for talented players who may have been overlooked by traditional scouting methods to enter the league and make a name for themselves. Despite these arguments, however, it seems that for now at least, the NFL will continue with its current system for selecting new talent through both traditional and supplemental means.
