That's not what Elway did.. "dabble in the minor leages." He was drafted by the NY Yankees, although preferred to play football. So he stated that he would NOT play for a certain person that coached the Colts and would not play if drafted. If they did, he would go play baseball instead. So, when the Colts drafted him, that's exactly the steps he took.... then the Colts did what they could to get SOMETHING in return, and traded Elway to the Broncos.
So you are not "declaring" for the draft. Thats just what they call it when an amatuer player is declaring that he's no longer going to play amatuer football at the college level. He's "declaring" that he's going pro, which, makes him ineligible for NCAA football. ANYONE can be drafted. Track players, baseball players, wrestlers, or people off the street playing sandlot football. But once your name is called out from a certain team making their selection, then they have the rights to you (as a football player) for a year. In Elway's case, he could have played baseball for a year and then re-entered the draft.
(the previous comment was not directed at any particular individual and was not intended to slander,disrespect or offend any reader of said statement)
So would you say in LeBron's case he was not eligible to play in the NFL until being in the NBA for 3 years (3 years after HS graduation) and once he was not drafted that year by any NFL team that year he then became free to sign with any NFL team he would want to in the future?
That's how I interpret the rule myself.
(the previous comment was not directed at any particular individual and was not intended to slander,disrespect or offend any reader of said statement)
You keep repeating that if a team calls your name, they own you. I get that. That's not what the question is.
Do you have to enter the draft to enter the NFL? If you don't enter the draft, can a team still call your name?
If Andrew Luck didn't contact the NFL and didn't get an agent and didn't do anything NFL related. A team thinks he's good. Do they draft him to own his rights? Can he get his name called even if he doesn't plan on playing in the NFL right then? After the draft can he be a free agent and sign with any team? Or does he have to enter the NFL draft to be eligible to be signed to an NFL team?
To the best I understand it, you do not have to enter. Whenever you are first eligible to be drafted (3 years out of HS, no longer an amateur athlete) your name is automatically put in the draft pool. A team can draft you whether you like it or not and they hold your rights for a year. If you don't sign, you enter the draft again the next year.
If you don't get drafted when you are eligible to, you are from then on a free agent.
Not in football, but it does happen in baseball all the time.
Luke Hochevar sat out a year and re-entered the amateur player draft. Rules are completely different for baseball on the draft, but it's a similar situation. Mark Appel is doing the same thing this year. Now, baseball careers are typically much longer than football careers, which makes it unlikely to ever happen in football.
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