Does a Draft pick have to stay with the team who drafted him?

So i am just thinking out loud but...

When someone gets drafted do they have to stay with the team who drafted them? I know what Eli did in '04, but I mean after the fact. Like let's say in mid-summer Reggie Bush was like "you know what, i dont want to play in new orleans" so he looked at his options with other teams.

So i guess my question is: How much does who you get drafted by matter? Is it set in stone? Can the player talk to other teams?

Titan "Tack" Fan said:

So i am just thinking out loud but...

When someone gets drafted do they have to stay with the team who drafted them? I know what Eli did in '04, but I mean after the fact. Like let's say in mid-summer Reggie Bush was like "you know what, i dont want to play in new orleans" so he looked at his options with other teams.

So i guess my question is: How much does who you get drafted by matter? Is it set in stone? Can the player talk to other teams?

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Im not sure about that either, but I think that the team that has drafted the player has their rights, and the player would have to retire and come back in a couple years....I think...

xtruroyaltyx said:

Im not sure about that either, but I think that the team that has drafted the player has their rights, and the player would have to retire and come back in a couple years....I think...

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See? It's weird to think about because Eli just straight up said "im not playing for them" and he was allowed to be traded. But im taking it a step further and asking can the guy just leave the team. Is the draft just teams getting "first dibs" at the guy or is the 2nd they draft them a legal binding contract?

Titan "Tack" Fan said:

See? It's weird to think about because Eli just straight up said "im not playing for them" and he was allowed to be traded. But im taking it a step further and asking can the guy just leave the team. Is the draft just teams getting "first dibs" at the guy or is the 2nd they draft them a legal binding contract?

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I'm not sure. The team's draft rights might end after the season they were drafted. However if other teams are talking to the player as he's holding out that first year, that would be tampering.

The team has his rights until the next draft. He cannot sign or play for any other NFL team during that time period. If he does not sign with the original drafting team he is put back into the next year's draft.

infantrycak said:

The team has his rights until the next draft. He cannot sign or play for any other NFL team during that time period. If he does not sign with the original drafting team he is put back into the next year's draft.

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So Eli is an exception because he was traded?

Titan "Tack" Fan said:

So Eli is an exception because he was traded?

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I wouldn't call it an exception. He expressed his preference and the Chargers made the best of the situation by trading him to the Giants. The draft gave the Chargers the right to make the trade or to sign him--basically to control his fate for 1 year.

ohhh ok thanks

If Eli had played for them...they would be a super bowl team....

DominickDavisFan76 said:

If Eli had played for them...they would be a super bowl team....

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I agree

DominickDavisFan76 said:

If Eli had played for them...they would be a super bowl team....

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That seems like a pretty thin limb--hard to see Eli and his whopping 75.9 QB rating having improved the team over Brees' 104.8.

infantrycak said:

That seems like a pretty thin limb--hard to see Eli and his whopping 75.9 QB rating having improved the team over Brees' 104.8.

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I don't understand some peoples fascination with Eli. Dude barely completes at 50%. Throws some really off target passes. Maybe that's the wind up there though.

Eli Manning may eventually be better than Drew Brees, but he sure wasn't last year (or the year before that).

I'm sure the player could hold out to a point where the team may release him. I mean, if the player really wanted to get out that bad. He can also sign a contract and asked to be traded I'm sure. That's where the holdout comes in again. But I don't think any rookie is stupid enough to screw up there season by sitting out during training camp and all that and not be ready for the season.

TexanFan881 said:

I'm sure the player could hold out to a point where the team may release him. I mean, if the player really wanted to get out that bad. He can also sign a contract and asked to be traded I'm sure. That's where the holdout comes in again. But I don't think any rookie is stupid enough to screw up there season by sitting out during training camp and all that and not be ready for the season.

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If I were running a team and a player refused to sign with my team I'd hang on to their rights and not let them go to another team.

Players can somewhat force a trade, as Eli Manning did, although he stated that he wouldn't play in San Diego long before the draft, so the Chargers knew in advance that they would have to come up with something if they were going to select him. If I remember right Bo Jackson was originally selected by the Buccaneers but refused to play for them and was drafted by the Raiders a year or two later after playing baseball, and several other players in the past have opted to play in Canada or the USFL if they didn't like the particular team or contract that they ended up with in the NFL, although now that the NFL has taken over as the dominant football league players don't really have that option anymore.

IIRC, you can only hang onto a player for the year he was drafted in. If no signing and sits out the entire year, then the he is placed into the next years draft. Until draft day of that second year, the team that originally drafted him holds those rights, but once he gets drafted, those rights transfer to the new team.

John Elway did the same thing. He was originally drafted by the Baltimore Colts, but threatened to play MLB if he wasn't traded.

infantrycak said:

That seems like a pretty thin limb--hard to see Eli and his whopping 75.9 QB rating having improved the team over Brees' 104.8.

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This may be a dumb question but why did he want to play in NY rather than SD? I'm sure this was answered back when he was drafted. I must've missed it. I mean New York, come on!

HOU-TEX said:

This may be a dumb question but why did he want to play in NY rather than SD? I'm sure this was answered back when he was drafted. I must've missed it. I mean New York, come on!

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bigger market mostly rather than a small market in san diego

HOU-TEX said:

This may be a dumb question but why did he want to play in NY rather than SD? I'm sure this was answered back when he was drafted. I must've missed it. I mean New York, come on!

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I don't think he required New York, just for some reason or another he didn't want San Diego. I personally would love to work in San Diego and their team certainly looked better than the Giants two years ago.

MorKnolle said:

I don't think he required New York, just for some reason or another he didn't want San Diego. I personally would love to work in San Diego and their team certainly looked better than the Giants two years ago.

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I agree. I wonder if there were some personal reasoning behind it.

HOU-TEX said:

I agree. I wonder if there were some personal reasoning behind it.

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I think the reason was that for a few years there San Diego looked to be in danger of becoming "Cincinnati West". They were making what appeared to be some boneheaded moves and remember that in 2004 we were going to kick their butts in the opener because they were almost universally believed to be the worst team in football.

It didn't work out that way but I'm sure that same perception factored into the decision. Archie played for a terrible team and I think they were all collectively trying to avoid sending Eli to a bad situation like that.

Hervoyel said:

I think the reason was that for a few years there San Diego looked to be in danger of becoming "Cincinnati West". They were making what appeared to be some boneheaded moves and remember that in 2004 we were going to kick their butts in the opener because they were almost universally believed to be the worst team in football.

It didn't work out that way but I'm sure that same perception factored into the decision. Archie played for a terrible team and I think they were all collectively trying to avoid sending Eli to a bad situation like that.

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What was going through Eli's head after that?????