By: Colin Lacy

TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services

So much has been swirling within the Brendan Sorsby saga that is unchartered territory for many folks following the story. One of the widely unknown elements that has cropped up a few times has been the NFL Supplemental Draft.

The biggest reason that the Supplemental Draft is an unknown commodity in the NFL is due to the fact that it’s been lightly used since it’s inception in 1977.

In the 49 previous years of the Supplemental Draft, there have only been 46 players selected with multiple players being taken nine times before 2000.

There hasn’t been a player even selected since Jalen Thompson was taken by the Arizona Cardinals after being declared ineligible at Washington State for his senior season due to NCAA Rules Violations. One step forward, the NFL hasn’t had a player apply to be considered in the Draft since 2023.

So, what exactly is the Supplemental Draft and how does it work?

The NFL Supplemental Draft is a separate draft that happens in the summer designed for players who were not in the regular first-year player draft in April and ends up losing his college football eligibility.

The NFL Collective Bargaining Agreement has language that the draft has to take place “on or before the seventh calendar day prior to the opening of the first training camp that League Year,” and also prohibits players from electing on their own to bypass the draft for which they are eligible to apply for in order to participate in the Supplemental Draft.

One of the biggest deterrents, and the main reason for the limited selections, especially in recent years, is if a club selects a player in the Supplemental Draft, they forfeit a choice in the corresponding round in the next year’s main draft.

For example, if a team takes Sorsby this year in the third round of the Supplemental Draft, that team would lose their third-round selection for the 2027 First-Year Player Draft.

While the official date of the Supplemental Draft hasn’t been set yet, with the rules outlined in the CBA, it would have to be on or before July 16.

One reason the date hasn’t been set yet is that technically Sorsby isn’t in the field yet. Sorsby’s camp has applied to be in the Supplemental Draft, but league officials must approve each player to be in the selection pool.

Most league officials believe it will be a foregone conclusion that Sorsby will be admitted, but the formality hasn’t happened yet.

Much like other professional league drafts, the NFL Supplemental Draft order gets determined by a lottery, or better yet, three different lotteries.

The NFL will group the teams into three separate groups the first group are teams that won 6 or fewer games, the next group won 7 or more games but missed the playoffs last season, with the final group as teams that played in the postseason. Within each of those groups, the lottery will determine the draft order.

The draft rules are different than the normal draft. In each round of the draft, every team goes “on the clock.”  If a team wishes to pick a player in that round, they will put a “bid” in for that player. If only one team submits a pick in that round, they would get the player. If there is more than one team that submits a pick in that round, the player is awarded to the highest team in the Supplemental Draft order.

If there are no picks in that round, all teams are informed that the next round begins, and the same procedure commences. The draft lasts 7 rounds or until all eligible players are selected (whichever comes first).

In the history of the NFL Supplemental Draft, only one player has been selected then go on to the Pro Football Hall of Fame as Chris Carter was selected in the 1987 NFL Supplemental Draft then elected to the Hall in 2013.

Only 8 players have been Supplemental picks and selected to the Pro Bowl with Josh Gordon being the most recent. These numbers don’t include the 1984 Special Supplemental Draft for college seniors that had already signed with the USFL or Canadian Football players when 3 players were drafted and went on to Hall of Fame careers with Steve Young, Garry Zimmerman & Reggie White in 1984.

Where does Sorsby land? The thought right now around the NFL front offices is that Sorsby (who is also the only known player to have applied for the Supplemental Draft) likely lands in the third round of the Supplemental Draft.

That being said, if a playoff team from last year (the lowest tier in the draft hierarchy), thinks that Sorsby could develop to an impact quarterback, they may forego a 2^nd round pick next year for him.