The 1984 NFL Supplemental Draft of USFL and CFL players was a one-time draft of

United States Football League The United States Football League (USFL) was a professional American football league that played for three seasons, 1983 through 1985. The league played a spring/summer schedule in each of its active seasons. The 1986 season was scheduled to be ...

and

Canadian Football League The Canadian Football League (CFL; french: Ligue canadienne de football—LCF) is a professional sports league in Canada. The CFL is the highest level of competition in Canadian football. The league consists of nine teams, each located in a c ...

players, held in the spring of 1984.

Reason for the draft

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

on Tuesday, June 5, starting at 10 am EDT, the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the majo ...

held a draft for college seniors who had already signed with either the USFL or the CFL in an attempt to head off a bidding war in its own ranks for USFL and CFL players. The 28 NFL teams chose 84 players from 224 available during the three-round selection meeting. The draft was for players who would have been eligible for the regular

1984 NFL Draft The 1984 NFL Draft was the procedure by which National Football League teams selected amateur college football players. It is officially known as the NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting. The draft was held May 1–2, 1984, at the Omni Park Cen ...

in early May, but had already signed a contract with a USFL or CFL team. The draft was implemented primarily with the fledgling USFL in mind. The owners did not want to risk potentially "wasting" picks in the regular draft on players who were already signed by another league, but also wanted to ensure there would not be a large influx of free agent talent in case the new league suddenly collapsed. The CFL, being a much more established circuit with strict limits on the number of American players on each team, was not as much of a concern, but was included to shield the NFL from potential

antitrust Competition law is the field of law that promotes or seeks to maintain market competition by regulating anti-competitive conduct by companies. Competition law is implemented through public and private enforcement. It is also known as antitrust ...

litigation that might have arisen had the league targeted a specific rival with a supplemental draft. Of the 84 players selected, only eight were from the CFL, with 76 from the USFL. The Los Angeles Express were something less than a juggernaut in

1984 Events January * January 1 – The Bornean Sultanate of Brunei gains full independence from the United Kingdom, having become a British protectorate in 1888. * January 7 – Brunei becomes the sixth member of the Association of Southeas ...

, with only a 8–7 record at the time of this draft. They finished 10–8 in the regular season and lost in the second round (semifinals) of the eight-team

playoffs The playoffs, play-offs, postseason or finals of a sports league are a competition played after the regular season by the top competitors to determine the league champion or a similar accolade. Depending on the league, the playoffs may be eit ...

. But their talent-laden roster, including future

Hall of Famers A hall, wall, or walk of fame is a list of individuals, achievements, or other entities, usually chosen by a group of electors, to mark their excellence or fame in their field. In some cases, these halls of fame consist of actual halls or muse ...

Steve Young and Gary Zimmerman, proved popular as twenty Express players were picked, including four of the first six selections and eleven in the opening round. (The eventual '84 USFL champs from

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Since ...

were second with nine picks; no CFL team had more than two.) Only one trade involving supplemental draft picks was consummated, as the

Cleveland Browns The Cleveland Browns are a professional American football team based in Cleveland. Named after original coach and co-founder Paul Brown, they compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conferenc ...

acquired all three of the

Chicago Bears The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago. The Bears compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) North division. The Bears have won nine ...

' supplemental picks in exchange for the Browns' selections in the final four rounds of the regular 1984 draft. As a result, Cleveland made six selections in this draft (including Pro Bowlers Kevin Mack and Gerald McNeil, both with picks that originally belonged to Chicago) while the Bears made none. The other 26 teams made three selections each.

First round

Second round

Third round

Selections by teams

Hall of Famers

* Steve Young, quarterback from the

USFL The United States Football League (USFL) was a professional American football league that played for three seasons, 1983 through 1985. The league played a spring/summer schedule in each of its active seasons. The 1986 season was scheduled to be ...

, taken first overall by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. :

Pro Football Hall of Fame The Pro Football Hall of Fame is the hall of fame for professional American football, located in Canton, Ohio. Opened on September 7, , the Hall of Fame enshrines exceptional figures in the sport of professional football, including players, coa ...

, Class of 2005 * Gary Zimmerman, offensive tackle from the USFL, taken third overall by the New York Giants. :Pro Football Hall of Fame, Class of 2008 * Reggie White, defensive end from the USFL, taken fourth overall by the Philadelphia Eagles. :Pro Football Hall of Fame, Class of 2006

References

1984 NFL Supplemental Draft of USFL and CFL Playersprofootballhof.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:1984 Nfl Supplemental Draft Of Usfl And Cfl Players National Football League Draft Supplemental Draft of USFL and CFL Players