● ? How Bernie Kosar used the supplemental draft to outsmart the entire NFL
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● ? How Bernie Kosar used the supplemental draft to outsmart the entire NFL
The Bills, Browns, and Bernie Kosar colluded in a trade that changed the direction of both franchises, and outwitted the whole league.
By Kyle DeDiminicantanio Jun 21, 2023, 5:25pm PDT3Achieving” the worst record in the NFL comes with franchise-altering opportunity. Every year, the last ranked team is awarded the first overall pick of the NFL Draft, and with it the critical dilemma of selecting a potentially transcendent player or trading the pick away for a treasure trove of assets.
In 1985, the Buffalo Bills became the first team to make the first overall selection and receive compensation for trading the pick away. In doing so, a major loophole of the NFL Supplemental Draft was exposed, prompting inner-league lawsuit threats, future rule changes and restructuring of the supplemental draft format.
The USFL’s impact on the NFL Draft
Drafts in the 80’s were much different than drafts of today. The modern NFL rarely sees prospects like Kyler Murray drafted in multiple sports, granting the athlete a decision as to which sport they’ll pursue professionally (sorry, Oakland A’s). typically when a player is drafted, there’s no doubt they will play in the NFL, and the implementation of the rookie wage scale has relatively streamlined contract negotiations. From 1983-1985, the NFL was in a tug-of-war over talent with the upstart USFL, casting much more uncertainty and complications over the draft process and player leverage in negotiations.
In the 1983 NFL Draft, the Buffalo Bills selected Jim Kelly with the 14th overall pick, despite their inclusion on his Elway-inspired list of teams he refused to play for. This gave a window of opportunity for Bruce Allen (yes, THAT Bruce Allen from the Dan Snyder scandals) to reach out to Kelly in hopes to swaying him towards the USFL, where Allen worked as general manager of the Chicago Blitz. Hilariously enough, this conversation happened in the Buffalo Bills’ front office during their negotiations with Jim. Bruce Allen called the Bills’ secretary and lied about his identity to get Jim on the phone, and convinced him to leave the building without signing a deal. Kelly opted for spring-league USFL but signed with the Houston Gamblers.
This left the Bills with a wasted first round pick... initially. They managed an 8-8 record in 1983 before collapsing in 1984 with a two-win season, good enough for last place honors. This gave them the first overall selection in the upcoming draft, and the decision of whether to draft a star or trade-down for a bundle of picks or players.
The USFL had already begun showing financial issues in 1984 after entering an ill-advised financial arms race with the NFL. Teams were folding, financial cover-ups were exposed, and the overall sustainability of the league was in question. By 1985, the league had relocated from major hubs like Chicago, Philadelphia, Detroit, and Washington to smaller markets like Portland, Orlando, Memphis, and San Antonio. Kelly’s anti-Buffalo stance softened with the questionable longevity of the USFL, which gave the Bills pause on targeting another QB with their first overall pick. By late February of 1985, they preemptively agreed to terms with future Hall of Famer Bruce Smith, who would go on to be their selection.
Bernie Kosar calls an audible on the NFL Draft
In the spring of 1985, Bernie Kosar shocked the league by declaring his intention to forgo his final two years of collegiate eligibility and enter the 1985 draft. He was a redshirt sophomore at a time when draft eligibility was limited to college seniors and graduates. He immediately became the top quarterback prospect of the class, although in his official announcement he omitted his commitment to enter the NFL Draft. Without reason to believe he wouldn’t be eligible, teams scrambled for positioning over Kosar. The Bills were committed to Smith, and the Houston Oilers owned the second selection but had drafted Warren Moon the year prior. This put the Minnesota Vikings as Kosar’s likely destination with their third overall selection, and they went so far as to hire his quarterback coach from Miami, Marc Trestman. However, the Oilers were also fielding trade-up calls.
Bernie Kosar’s motivation for graduating early was partially fueled by a belief he had outgrown the NCAA, despite his loyalty to his teammates and desire to carry them to a national championship again. His father solidified his decision when he explained a loophole that would strengthen his chance to play for his hometown team, the Cleveland Browns. Undergrads were required to submit their draft eligibility applications by April 15th in order to declare for the April 30th draft. By missing this deadline while setting course for a summer graduation, Bernie would be ineligible for the NFL Draft but eligible for the supplemental draft and 1985 season.
Comments / 3 NewTwo key trades happened on April 9th, 1985 that targeted the same player and would cause turmoil in the coming weeks. The Vikings, determined to not let a team leapfrog them to grab Kosar, sent their first and second round picks to the Oilers in exchange for the second overall pick, an expensive cost to move one draft slot. With Allen already locked up by the Bills, they had every reason to believe they had secured the rights to draft Bernie Kosar, but wisely insured themselves by making the second round selection conditional on Kosar signing with them.
The Browns already attempted to trade with the Oilers as well, but Houston was determined to not let the star quarterback go to a division rival. However, Kosar tipped off Cleveland of his newly discovered loophole. The same day as the Minnesota-Houston trade, the Bills sent their first overall supplemental pick to the Browns in exchange for Cleveland’s seventh overall pick, third round pick, 1986 sixth round pick, and All-Pro linebacker Chip Banks. Banks was unable to be located following news of the trade, so Buffalo exercised an option that sent Cleveland’s 1986 first round selection in lieu of Banks.
The fallout of Bernie “missing” the NFL Draft application deadline
Chaos erupted when news of Kosar’s NFL Draft ineligibility broke. The Vikings and Oilers demanded action from NFL Commissioner Pete Rozelle. On April 23rd, Rozelle ruled that Kosar hadn’t broken any rules, but gave Kosar a second chance to select which draft to enter. This gave the Vikings an opportunity to send Hall of Fame head coach Bud Grant and Marc Trestman to sway Kosar their direction.
While these meetings took place, Houston attempted to delay the draft by naming Rozelle in a lawsuit. However, when Minnesota opted to not join in the lawsuit, the case was dropped. The first round pick swap wasn’t reversed but Minnesota agreed that they would not select or allow a trade partner to select Houston’s primary target, Ray Childress. The conditional second round pick was not sent to Houston. The Oilers lost twice; they missed an opportunity to gain significant draft capital by trading with the Browns initially, and still wound up with the star quarterback in their division.
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Great times back then even though it was so difficult to come up short.
I never liked Jim Kelly. I didn't realize he pulled an Elway, wow. I always said he was about the 4th or 5th best QB in the AFC in that era, yet he got to Canton ( 4 SBs in a row will do that for you lol). He always pointed thie finger at his team mates, never realizing Parcells outcoached Levy, & the Cowboys were simply a machine. Saying that though, Bills fans are pretty much just like us- a drought with tortures of sad endings.
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Great times back then even though it was so difficult to come up short.
I never liked Jim Kelly. I didn't realize he pulled an Elway, wow. I always said he was about the 4th or 5th best QB in the AFC in that era, yet he got to Canton ( 4 SBs in a row will do that for you lol). He always pointed thie finger at his team mates, never realizing Parcells outcoached Levy, & the Cowboys were simply a machine. Saying that though, Bills fans are pretty much just like us- a drought with tortures of sad endings.
Great times back then even though it was so difficult to come up short.
I never liked Jim Kelly. I didn't realize he pulled an Elway, wow. I always said he was about the 4th or 5th best QB in the AFC in that era, yet he got to Canton ( 4 SBs in a row will do that for you lol). He always pointed thie finger at his team mates, never realizing Parcells outcoached Levy, & the Cowboys were simply a machine. Saying that though, Bills fans are pretty much just like us- a drought with tortures of sad endings.
Another thing I'm noticing is Josh Allen chokes in big games and is regressing... When I saw 12 men on the field last night I thought... That falls on McDermott.. He's gotta be on the hot seat after last night.. The Bills have always been under achievers IMHO.
Nickers...."There are no old running QB's in the NFL "~Sam Rutigliano~ -
Great times back then even though it was so difficult to come up short.
I never liked Jim Kelly. I didn't realize he pulled an Elway, wow. I always said he was about the 4th or 5th best QB in the AFC in that era, yet he got to Canton ( 4 SBs in a row will do that for you lol). He always pointed thie finger at his team mates, never realizing Parcells outcoached Levy, & the Cowboys were simply a machine. Saying that though, Bills fans are pretty much just like us- a drought with tortures of sad endings.
Another thing I'm noticing is Josh Allen chokes in big games and is regressing... When I saw 12 men on the field last night I thought... That falls on McDermott.. He's gotta be on the hot seat after last night.. The Bills have always been under achievers IMHO.
Another thing I'm noticing is Josh Allen chokes in big games and is regressing... When I saw 12 men on the field last night I thought... That falls on McDermott.. He's gotta be on the hot seat after last night.. The Bills have always been under achievers IMHO.
I was torn between Allen & Mayfield in that draft. Leaned towards Allen, bigger arm, bigger guy.
I like Allen, but yes he's regressing. Maybe Daboll was the keys to his success, and he's with the NYG.
I hate the Broncos with a passion, but Wilson's shovel pass was a key on that drive. Brilliant (ugh). The PI that happened, those are nearly impossible to defend, the underthrown bomb....but WHY did they blitz 2 plays in a row against an 11 year veteran? Yes, McD pretty much gambled & lost, and his ST coach/captain failed him on the GW FG.
Not sure the Bills' "window" is closed with Allen at QB, he's talented. But maybe it's Lenny Wilkins Syndrome, or closer to home, Marty Ball. Good enough to get you out of the doldrums, but just not enough to capture the whole thing.
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Another thing I'm noticing is Josh Allen chokes in big games and is regressing... When I saw 12 men on the field last night I thought... That falls on McDermott.. He's gotta be on the hot seat after last night.. The Bills have always been under achievers IMHO.
I was torn between Allen & Mayfield in that draft. Leaned towards Allen, bigger arm, bigger guy.
I like Allen, but yes he's regressing. Maybe Daboll was the keys to his success, and he's with the NYG.
I hate the Broncos with a passion, but Wilson's shovel pass was a key on that drive. Brilliant (ugh). The PI that happened, those are nearly impossible to defend, the underthrown bomb....but WHY did they blitz 2 plays in a row against an 11 year veteran? Yes, McD pretty much gambled & lost, and his ST coach/captain failed him on the GW FG.
Not sure the Bills' "window" is closed with Allen at QB, he's talented. But maybe it's Lenny Wilkins Syndrome, or closer to home, Marty Ball. Good enough to get you out of the doldrums, but just not enough to capture the whole thing.
I was torn between Allen & Mayfield in that draft. Leaned towards Allen, bigger arm, bigger guy.
I like Allen, but yes he's regressing. Maybe Daboll was the keys to his success, and he's with the NYG.
I hate the Broncos with a passion, but Wilson's shovel pass was a key on that drive. Brilliant (ugh). The PI that happened, those are nearly impossible to defend, the underthrown bomb....but WHY did they blitz 2 plays in a row against an 11 year veteran? Yes, McD pretty much gambled & lost, and his ST coach/captain failed him on the GW FG.
Not sure the Bills' "window" is closed with Allen at QB, he's talented. But maybe it's Lenny Wilkins Syndrome, or closer to home, Marty Ball. Good enough to get you out of the doldrums, but just not enough to capture the whole thing.
Yeah that's pretty much my whole feeling on it as well.. Some guys/teams can seal the deal.. Others cannot.. The big issue from Marty was he always coached "Scared to Lose" and no matter where he went.. the attitude and the results were the same.. And that's unfortunate because he was so organized and well liked.. I thought he was a good man Good motivator.. But he didn't know how to properly use the Prevent defense that was basically invented by George Allen.. It was never meant to be a base defense... All it was intended for was to run out the last 2 miniutes of a the last quarter when you are up by some staggering point total and the other team can't come back and win... It ultimately killed Butch Davis when the Browns lost to shittspuke in the 01-02 playoffs..
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I remember mpls sports page headline declare "Kosar the Viking" as they tried to get him. And glad they (vikes) were shot down. Also, wasn't the Cousineau deal similar? I do remember him as a bust though..
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The link that mentions Chip Banks being “unable to be located” is broken, and l didn’t know that story so l researched this…
https://nflfootballjournal.blogspot.com/2020/08/another-worthy-career-football-wiseoff.html?m=1
Apparently Banks flat out refused to play for Buffalo, haha. Said he’d rather retire. That’s funny.
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Great times back then even though it was so difficult to come up short.
I never liked Jim Kelly. I didn't realize he pulled an Elway, wow. I always said he was about the 4th or 5th best QB in the AFC in that era, yet he got to Canton ( 4 SBs in a row will do that for you lol). He always pointed thie finger at his team mates, never realizing Parcells outcoached Levy, & the Cowboys were simply a machine. Saying that though, Bills fans are pretty much just like us- a drought with tortures of sad endings.
Another thing I'm noticing is Josh Allen chokes in big games and is regressing... When I saw 12 men on the field last night I thought... That falls on McDermott.. He's gotta be on the hot seat after last night.. The Bills have always been under achievers IMHO.
Another thing I'm noticing is Josh Allen chokes in big games and is regressing... When I saw 12 men on the field last night I thought... That falls on McDermott.. He's gotta be on the hot seat after last night.. The Bills have always been under achievers IMHO.
That was one of the most fundamental brainfarts I have ever seen both from coaches and from one player who obviously is not on the FG defensive team. WTF was he doing out there and why wasn't a coach counting the numbers?
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