Bernie Kosar - NFL Draft Controversy

NFL Draft Controversy

Under National Football League rules at the time, only seniors and graduates could be drafted. Kosar, who was scheduled to graduate over the summer from the University of Miami's business school with a double major in finance and economics, had two years of college eligibility remaining.

At the time, underclassmen had until April 15, 1985, to notify the league about their eligibility for the April 30 regular draft. In January 1985, a Florida television report stated that Kosar had decided to forgo his two years of eligibility and declare for the NFL Draft. Kosar denied the report at the time, but added that he would keep his options open. At a March 15 news conference, Kosar announced that he would make himself available for the 1985 NFL Draft and that he would like to play for the Cleveland Browns in his native Ohio. After the announcement, both NFL and United States Football League teams were interested and Kosar's agent, Dr. John Geletka, even met with the USFL's commissioner, Harry Usher to confirm the USFL's interest level.

The Buffalo Bills held the first pick in the 1985 NFL Draft and signed defensive end Bruce Smith out of Virginia Tech weeks before the draft. On April 9, 1985, Mike Lynn, the general manager of the Minnesota Vikings traded two picks to the Houston Oilers to move up to the second spot in the draft in preparation of Kosar's announcement that he would enter the draft.

Later on the same day, Cleveland traded their first round picks in the 1985 NFL Draft (#7) and 1986 NFL Draft, their third round pick in 1985 (#63) and their sixth round pick in 1986 to the Buffalo Bills for their first round pick in the 1986 NFL Draft. Since the Bills had the worst record in the 1984 season, they held the first pick in both the regular NFL draft and the supplemental draft in 1985. When a selection is used in the supplemental draft, that team forfeits the pick in the next regular draft which meant that the Browns could use the Bills 1986 regular draft first round pick as the first pick in the 1985 supplemental draft.

On April 10, NFL spokesman Joe Browne said that if Kosar's paperwork was not received by the April 15 deadline then he would not be eligible for the regular draft on April 30. Browne added that if Kosar later decided to play in the 1985 season, then the league would hold a supplemental draft for Kosar and other eligible players.

Minnesota responded by stating that when Kosar announced he would turn professional, he was, in effect, declaring his intention to enter the draft. They also charged that the Browns and Kosar's agent orchestrated this scenario in order to subvert the NFL's orderly system of drafting players and claim Kosar for themselves. Mike Lynn also stated that since Kosar had hired an agent, he should have automatically lost his college eligibility and become eligible for the regular draft. The Oilers threatened to sue the NFL if Kosar was allowed to skip the regular draft in favor of the supplemental draft and Kosar's agent threatened to sue the NFL if Kosar was forced into the regular draft.

Due to the controversy, on April 12, commissioner Pete Rozelle extended the April 15 eligibility deadline for Kosar alone (who had not officially filed the paperwork for draft eligibility) and called a hearing that would take place on April 16. The four teams (Buffalo, Cleveland, Houston and Minnesota) involved in the two trades presented their case at the hearing.

On April 23, Rozelle announced that he would leave the decision up to Kosar, but permitted Minnesota to persuade Kosar to enter the regular draft with the condition that they could not negotiate a potential contract with him. This led to an April 25 news conference where Kosar announced that he wanted to go home to Ohio as a member of the Cleveland Browns and that he would forgo the regular NFL Draft and make himself eligible for the supplemental draft. On May 10, Kosar officially announced his intentions for the supplemental draft in a letter to the commissioner. On June 25, Kosar became officially eligible for the supplemental draft when he took his exam finals and the university notified the NFL front office that he had graduated. On July 3, 1985, the Browns selected Kosar and signed him to a five-year contract that same day.

On a related note, Buffalo tied with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers for the worst record in 1985 and would have had the first pick in the 1986 draft. Since that pick was traded to Cleveland and it was used for the 1985 supplemental draft, the Bills essentially forfeited the first overall pick in the 1986 draft. The Bills however, still had the rights to Jim Kelly at the time and eventually signed him. The Buccaneers ended up selecting Bo Jackson with the first pick at that draft. Ironically, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers also lost the first pick of the 1986 NFL Draft because Bo Jackson refused to sign with them and entered the 1987 NFL Draft. Both the Bills and the Buccaneers lost the opportunity to have the first player in the 1986 draft play for them.