Professional sports are full of strange, often unused and unknown rules that make you ask “why does this rule exist in the first place?” The answer is usually, “well, because some moron actually tried doing it once.” That happens to be the exact reasoning behind the NFL’s Salata Rule, which prohibits a team from passing on its draft pick with the intent to pick last.
Why NFL teams can’t pass down to draft Mr. Irrelevant
A sewer contractor’s vision to honor the last pick in the draft sparked a strange rule.
Back in the 1970s, the Rams and the Steelers fought over the last pick in the draft because they each wanted to select “Mr. Irrelevant.” Why? Because Paul Salata, a former NFL player turned businessman established a special week-long celebration in Newport Beach, Calif. named “Irrelevant Week.”
Irrelevant Week has continued ever since and includes a banquet, parade, and celebratory events meant to honor Mr. Irrelevant. In the 1979 draft, the Rams and the Steelers couldn’t pass up the opportunity to have the free publicity that comes with selecting Mr. Irrelevant, so Commissioner Pete Rozelle intervened and instated the Salata Rule.
Luckily for this year’s Mr. Irrelevant, Chad Kelly, the Denver Broncos didn’t have to fight anyone to draft him.
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