The
1974 WFL pro draft was the first professional draft of the
World Football League (WFL). It supplemented its
collegiate draft and included players from the
NFL and
CFL. It consisted of 480 selections in 40 rounds. Although it was expected that most of the NFL players drafted would have no intention of signing with the new league, the WFL still wanted to have the prominent NFL players future rights assigned, preventing WFL teams from competing in the signing for the same players.[1]
On March 19, 1974, the WFL had a second pro draft to select the rights to players cut by National Football League teams. Each WFL team selected 2 NFL franchises to secure the rights to players not previously selected in the first day 40 rounds pro draft.[2] The New York Giants and Chicago Bears were not drafted.
In
1975, because of the uncertainties surrounding the league, only a pro draft of entire
NFL and
CFL teams was done at its league meetings in
Birmingham, Alabama. The professional football teams chosen were the following:
Birmingham Vulcans: Atlanta Falcons, Kansas City Chiefs and Winnipeg Blue Bombers.
Charlotte Hornets: Baltimore Colts, Detroit Lions and Buffalo Bills.
Chicago Winds: Pittsburgh Steelers, New York Jets and Edmonton Eskimos.
The Hawaiians: San Francisco 49ers, Denver Broncos and Philadelphia Eagles.