In 1976, Al Hunter rushed for 1,058 yards and 12 touchdowns, leading the Notre Dame Fighting Irish to an AP No. 12 ranking and an 8-3 season. He was electric, averaging over 4 yards per carry and providing a real spark to their team. He was going to return for his senior year at Notre Dame despite being eligible under the four-year rule at the time. Hunter had some off-the-field issues that kept him out of the lineup for the entire 1974 season, so despite being a junior, he was eligible to be drafted. He wanted to improve his draft stock and try to make a run for the national championship before going to the league. However, before that could happen, he flunked out of Notre Dame in April of 1977 and was ineligible to play for the Fighting Irish the next season. There was only one problem - it was after the NFL draft had taken place. At the time, the NFL realized that there should be a route for players to declare for the NFL draft after the main draft had taken place. They decided to add what would be known as the supplemental draft. Al Hunter was taken in the first-ever supplemental draft in the summer of 1977 by the Seahawks with their 1978 fourth-round pick.

Now I know what you’re asking: how was a running back taken in 1977 in June after the draft had taken place with a draft pick that wasn’t supposed to be used until April of the next year. Let me break it down for you.

How the Supplemental Draft Works

The supplemental draft was put together to give players such as Al Hunter a pathway to the league if they did not declare for the draft in time for the April draft. How it works is if there is a prospect that fits that category, then the league can agree to hold a supplementary draft - it doesn’t happen every year, only in years that it makes sense to hold one. The league has to approve a player to be eligible for the supplemental draft. Suffice to say, it’s a rare occurrence.

Once that happens, the league puts teams in three boxes: less than 6 wins, all other teams that didn’t make the playoffs, and teams with a playoff berth. Then, based on a lottery, the official positions are given, divided into those three categories.

After that, the teams put in blind bids for a player. Any team can bid on a player eligible for the supplemental draft, and whoever bids the highest round gets that player. If multiple teams bid the same round on the player, then the team with the highest randomized pick based on what category they are in gets the tiebreaker.

So no matter what, if the Jets and the Eagles bid on Brendan Sorsby this year, then the Jets are guaranteed to get him. However, if the Jets and the Titans both bid the same round pick on Sorsby, then it all comes down to who won the lottery and has the “higher pick.”

The team that wins a player in the supplemental draft will lose that draft pick in the following year’s draft.

There are very notable players who have been taken in the supplemental draft. Most notably, Hall of Famer Cris Carter was drafted with a 5th round pick in the supplemental draft, as well as quarterback Terrelle Pryor and wide receiver Josh Gordon.

There are many years that no one bids on someone and they become an undrafted free agent, but with so many quarterback holes and how promising of a prospect Sorsby is, it would be shocking if he went undrafted. Let me know your thoughts.