Mr. Irrelevant is the nickname given to the person drafted with the final pick of an NFL draft. Most players drafted with the very last draft pick do not even end up playing in an actual NFL game, let alone go on to having successful careers in the NFL. Often times, a player chosen with this pick is released from the team that drafted them before preseason or training camps begin. Some notable exceptions include Jacque MacKinnon, Ryan Succop, and Brock Purdy.

History

"Mr. Irrelevant" and "Irrelevant Week" began in 1976 when former USC and pro football receiver Paul Salata founded the event in Newport Beach, California. Salata had himself had a short and "irrelevant" career in professional football, playing the 1949 AAFC season as a member of the San Francisco 49ers and in the 1950 NFL season for the first Baltimore Colts, and sought to bring attention to other unlauded players for whom a professional career was likely to be fleeting. Originally organized by Salata and fellow members of the Balboa Bay Club, after each draft the new Mr. Irrelevant — last player selected in the annual NFL draft — and his family are invited to spend a week during the summer in Newport Beach. A trip to Disneyland, a golf tournament featuring a main foursome consisting of the highest-handicapped golfers from each of four neighboring courses, a No Start/No Finish regatta, a roast giving advice to the new draftee, and a ceremony awarding him the Lowsman Trophy are traditional activities associated with "Irrelevant Week". The trophy mimics the Heisman Trophy but depicts a player fumbling a football. "Irrelevant Week" gave so much publicity to "Mr. Irrelevant" that in 1979 the Los Angeles Rams, with the penultimate pick, intentionally passed to let the Pittsburgh Steelers, with the last pick, choose first. The Steelers also wanted the publicity and passed as well. The two teams continued to refuse to choose a player until NFL Commissioner Pete Rozelle forced the teams to pick, with the Steelers winning the pick. The incident led to the "Salata Rule", which prohibits teams from passing to get the final pick. Prior to the establishment of Mr. Irrelevant in 1976, the first final pick to make the Pro Bowl was Bill Fischer, who was the last pick in the 1948 NFL draft. He was drafted by the Chicago Cardinals after his junior season at Notre Dame. He opted to stay in school, and won the Outland Trophy as the nation's top interior lineman in 1948. The Cardinals drafted him again in 1949, this time with their first-round pick. The last player chosen in the 1961 NFL draft, Jacque MacKinnon, had a successful 10-season career. However he signed with the San Diego Chargers of the rival American Football League instead of with the Philadelphia Eagles. He appeared in two AFL All-Star Games in 1966 and 1968. He is one of only three final picks to appear in a Pro Bowl or the equivalent. Jimmy Walker was the final pick in the 1967 NFL draft, despite never having played college football. His main sport, however, was basketball, in which he was a consensus All-American and the nation's leading scorer as a senior at Providence College. Walker was the first pick in the 1967 NBA draft, and opted for a career in the NBA. The first Mr. Irrelevant to play in the Super Bowl was Marty Moore, a special teams player drafted last in 1994, who played with the New England Patriots in Super Bowl XXXI. Salata announced the final pick of each NFL draft until 2013; from 2014 his daughter took over in announcing the pick.

Notable selections

Since the NFL Draft was cut to its current seven-round format in 1994, players presented with this dubious honor have more often succeeded in making the team that drafted them, with some making significant contributions.

NFL final draft selections

Explanatory notes

Citations