The Future Legends of the NFL

2010 is the 91st season for the national Football League, with many players leaving their legacies playing for numerous teams during the years. Some have become legends, while most have had careers out of the limelight. Some had short careers due to injuries or performance issues, while others have had a long and prosperous time playing for one or more teams in the NFL. With that we wonder how these teams replenish their rosters with new players after losing veterans to retirement or moving to other teams. There are different ways that this is accomplished. Each player has a contract with the team he is playing for. These contracts dictate how much a player is paid and how many years he is to be with the team. When these contracts expire, the player becomes a "free agent" and can contact other teams that may wish to pay him more for his services. Every year players move from team to team during free agency. The teams will look for player depending on their position needs as well as the skills of the players.
Another way that teams acquire new players is through the "NFL Draft". NFL teams draft senior players that are graduating from colleges and universities each April. The draft is a major event that has all NFL teams attempting to obtain the best players that they can. Depending on the previous seasons win/loss records, the teams with the worst records are allowed to have the first picks to obtain the best college players to improve their teams. For example this year the St. Louis Rams had a poor season last year and were allowed to pick Sam Bradford who was the number one quarterback prospect. This usually has a beneficial effect on the league as it brings the teams closer in parity and skill levels. But sometimes this does not work out as planned. Some college players who are expected to be great do not do well at all when trying to play at the professional level. When this happens they are usually traded to another team within two or three years and many quit playing altogether. On the other hand, some of the best players were picked from the later rounds of the draft and went on to become superstars. Tom Brady of the New England Patriots,who was picked in a late round of the 1996 draft, is a good example. Some college players are not drafted at all and become "undrafted free agents" They are then sometimes contacted by NFL teams after the draft and are selected to play. Sometimes even these undrafted players go on to have illustrious careers, such as John Randle of the Minnesota Vikings. He became one of the NFL's best defensive ends of all time and was enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
last way that teams acquire new players is by trading players with other teams. Teams trade for players who fit their needs and also may future trade draft picks for players that they want. This leads a great deal of strategies when teams are competing for players. There are also many other factors that are involved with this. Each team has to consider how much money they can spend for each player. The league itself also has rules regarding the amount of money involved and also what teams are allowed to participate in the free agency. The better a team is, the more restrictions they have placed on them during the free agency period and the draft. all of this is very entertaining for the fans and they watch these events very closely to find out how their teams will do in the next season. After all, it is the fans that pay for tickets to attend the games, buy jerseys, food and other merchandise
which allows the teams to spend millions of dollars on the players for their teams. It is a very large business, because professional football is shown to be the most popular sport in the USA.