The supplemental draft sucks.
We sit around waiting for teams to submit bids to the font office and twiddle our thumbs until the transaction wire comes out.
Boring!
How about we make this an event? Get all the teams together in a room for a real auction. Instead of submitting the highest round they would give up, the teams shout out the draft slot (projected based on current draft order like it is today) that they would give up.
Unlike the current silent auction method, teams could bid their 7th rounder and if someone jumps over them, they could bid their 6th. This ensures players receive maximum compensation and are valued more accurately.
And it’s a lot more fun.
Every player gets a little highlight film played before the auction for them starts. Heck, get all the prospects together – there’s only like 5 of them, they can all fit in the green room!
Let the prospect come up and have an open mic when it’s their turn. Let Marcus Simms get up and say “Hey, I’m gonna be the best kick returner in the league, and I can be a top-10 slot receiver! You better not sleep on me! Let the bidding begin!”
Then teams can start calling out bids. There could be a big electronic board showing them moving up the chart.
If no team makes a bid, the player still has an open mic. “Really, Belichick? You won’t give up pick 224 for me!? You’re gonna regret that!”
If they don’t get picked, all the teams are there to start talking to the player as an unrestricted free agent. Imagine the reality TV drama from watching teams try to sign a guy they just refused to bid a 7th rounder for.
Or if the bidding heats up, the player can still talk. “Packers got the high bid. Bears, you really wanna face me twice a year? You better make a bid!”
How fun would this be?
Way more fun than what we have now!
This is the offseason dead zone – football fans are starving! Anything, no matter how small and contrived, would be a welcome event in mid-July.
NFL – do this!