Alan
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https://www.quora.com/If-a-player-i...ay-in-which-team-they-play-for-If-not-why-not
If a player is picked in the NFL draft, does the player have any say in which team they play for?
Sameer Ketkar,
Yes, but it depends on how good the player is. A player can refuse to play for the team that drafts him. In that case, the team will most likely squat on the rights to sign that player, to see if they get a good offer from another team. If the player is a late-round pick or a borderline player, then the team would probably just cut him.
In the unlikely event that the player is exceptionally highly rated and also refuses to play for the team that drafts him, then the team is in a bind: They wouldn't have drafted the player if they didn't need him, but they still must recover some value out of the draft pick. There are two very notable times when this has happened. In 1983, John Elway was drafted #1 overall by the Baltimore Colts. The Colts badly needed a player like Elway, but he didn't want to play for them. He threatened to quit football forever and play baseball instead. Eventually, the Colts caved in and trade him to the Denver Broncos for two players and a first round draft pick the next year.
The other notable case of this happening was in 2004, when the San Diego Chargers selected Eli Manning #1 overall. Manning had stated before the draft that he would not play for the Chargers, so the Chargers had made a deal with the New York Giants. The deal was that San Diego would draft Manning, and New York would draft Philip Rivers and then trade Rivers plus several draft picks to San Diego for Manning. It's somewhat remarkable that they were able to pull off this deal, considering that the New York Giants had the #4 overall pick in the draft. This means there was nothing stopping the #2 or #3 overall picks from taking Philip Rivers and thereby scuttling the deal. But luckily, for all involved, that didn't happen.
If a player is picked in the NFL draft, does the player have any say in which team they play for?
Sameer Ketkar,
Yes, but it depends on how good the player is. A player can refuse to play for the team that drafts him. In that case, the team will most likely squat on the rights to sign that player, to see if they get a good offer from another team. If the player is a late-round pick or a borderline player, then the team would probably just cut him.
In the unlikely event that the player is exceptionally highly rated and also refuses to play for the team that drafts him, then the team is in a bind: They wouldn't have drafted the player if they didn't need him, but they still must recover some value out of the draft pick. There are two very notable times when this has happened. In 1983, John Elway was drafted #1 overall by the Baltimore Colts. The Colts badly needed a player like Elway, but he didn't want to play for them. He threatened to quit football forever and play baseball instead. Eventually, the Colts caved in and trade him to the Denver Broncos for two players and a first round draft pick the next year.
The other notable case of this happening was in 2004, when the San Diego Chargers selected Eli Manning #1 overall. Manning had stated before the draft that he would not play for the Chargers, so the Chargers had made a deal with the New York Giants. The deal was that San Diego would draft Manning, and New York would draft Philip Rivers and then trade Rivers plus several draft picks to San Diego for Manning. It's somewhat remarkable that they were able to pull off this deal, considering that the New York Giants had the #4 overall pick in the draft. This means there was nothing stopping the #2 or #3 overall picks from taking Philip Rivers and thereby scuttling the deal. But luckily, for all involved, that didn't happen.
