In 1935, Philadelphia Eagles owner Bert Bell convinced his colleagues that the NFL needed a way to help struggling teams acquire a bigger share of rookie talent, and the NFL draft was born. When the first draft was held in 1936, pick number one belonged to — surprise, surprise — the Eagles, who’d finished with the worst record in the league.
The NFL’s very first draft pick never played a snap
He didn’t even sign a contract!
They used that pick on Jay Berwanger, a halfback who’d also won the first Heisman Trophy and gave future president Gerald Ford a scar under his eye during a game. Berwanger wanted $1,000 a game (which would be about $18,000 today), a number the Eagles thought they couldn’t afford. So they traded his rights to the Chicago Bears, but the two never agreed to contractual terms, and Berwanger decided to take a job as a rubber salesman.
So if you’re a Bears fan flabbergasted that the team traded up to sign Mitch Trubisky, remember, it could be, and has been, worse!
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