when did they start televising the nfl draft
National Football League Draft In 1980, Chet Simmons, president of the year-old ESPN, asked Pete Rozelle if the fledgling network could broadcast coverage of the draft live on ESPN. Although Rozelle did not believe it would be entertaining television, he agreed.[54][55] In 1988, the NFL moved the draft from weekdays to the weekend and ESPN's ratings of the coverage improved dramatically.[54][56]
Aaron Rodgers Before the draft, Rodgers was confident that he would be drafted to the team he supported and grew up near,[42] the San Francisco 49ers, who possessed the No. 1 overall pick in the draft. The 49ers, however, drafted quarterback Alex Smith out of Utah instead, and Rodgers slid all the way down to the 24th overall pick by the Green Bay Packers. Rodgers has said that he experienced much angst and restlessness when waiting to be selected several hours into the draft, as he had expected himself to be selected much sooner.[42] Rodgers's slip to the 24th selection and the Packers choosing to pick Brett Favre's future replacement became one of the biggest stories of the draft, though he was still the second quarterback selected. His drop in the draft was later ranked number one on the NFL Network's Top 10 Draft Day Moments. Many teams drafting between the second and 23rd positions had positional needs more pressing than quarterback.[43][44]