Draft (sports)
As Entry Draft ( in German about recruitment of young people ) are mainly in the North American professional sports leagues including the NHL (Ice Hockey), the NBA ( basketball), the NFL (American Football), CFL (Canadian Football), the MLS ( soccer) and the MLB (baseball) practiced methods referred to, with which the clubs agree among themselves about the rights to the most promising young players.
During the whole season watching talent scout players in America and Europe. These create lists in which the players are ranked according to their assessment. The lists have only the character of a recommendation, the teams must comply with the selection not be available at the ranking for the chosen team. In the NFL, there are about two months before the draft, the NFL Combine, where all registered players will be " tested for heart and kidney ."
Because there is no waste and promoted in these leagues, teams who could not qualify for the play- offs, will select the other teams and thus have better chances of good young players may. To prevent weak teams at the end of the season in terms of an earlier choice purposely play bad, did some leagues but also random elements. The final order is fixed there by a weighted draw in the so called Draft Lottery (recruitment lottery). Often draft picks (recruitment positions) before the draft, assigned, for example, in the course of a player transfer to other teams.
A club which drafted a player ( recruited ) has, owns all rights to this. It is the player not able to play without his club for another team in the league. The association, however, is not required to actually use the Player in the league. Often the young talents to play for the time being in farm teams, where young players can develop their skills and be available on demand for use in the professional team.
The basic idea of the draft had the later NFL President Bert Bell in 1934. A year later, the NFL decided to enter the system and henceforth apply each year in the spring.
Critics of the draft complain that the process restricting the right to free choice of employment, however, make the leagues this argument with respect to that of the Draft prevented especially in combination with the free agency relationships as they occur in European football, which means that financially strong clubs buy the best talent. Thus they increase more and more, whereas the (financially) weaker associations with the offered salaries of the top clubs can not compete and be even weaker. However, the draft system can not prevail over the long term, even in Europe, as there is a different structure here: In the U.S., the club system is often linked to public educational institutions, ie, at high schools, universities, etc. In the adult area there is outside of the professional leagues only few and little-known amateur leagues. This cleavage of the clubs in different age groups favored the draft system as well as sports scholarships.