The NFL has announced that for the fourth consecutive year, there will be no supplemental draft in 2024. This news comes after the two players 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 for players who have faced a change in eligibility, allowing them 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.
When the supplemental draft is held, it 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.
The last team to make a selection in the supplemental draft was the Arizona Cardinals in 2019 when they picked safety Jalen Thompson in the fifth round. The supplemental draft began in 1977 and was initially intended for former college students. Since 1993, players who did not attend college have also been included in the draft.