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The NFL has been often criticized for not putting up the lottery system to determine the draft order like the NBA, and it came to further light after the recently concluded NBA Draft Lottery.
Victor Wembanyama, who is considered to be the best draft prospect since LeBron James, was a coveted prize heading into this year's lottery. The San Antonio Spurs ended up getting the first overall pick to draft him, but they didn't have the worst record in the league this season.
In the NFL, the team with the worst record gets handed the first overall pick, and is in essence, rewarded for tanking. This concept is not liked by many, as they think intentional tanking is not good and a lottery system would eliminate that.
So far the National Football League has shown no desire to adopt a lottery system, and Mike Florio outlined why the league will perhaps never adopt that concept.
Here's what Florio said:
"An NFL draft lottery would become a major offseason tentpole. It would fill the dip that often occurs between the early days of free agency and the final countdown to the draft. It would generate attention and, more importantly, money."
"The NFL wants to avoid doing anything that will acknowledge the inherent temptation to tank. If they were to create a system that, for example, gave more lottery balls to teams that finish lower in the standings, the NFL would be admitting what everyone currently knows — bad is good."
The Chicago Bears had the worst record in the league last season and they had the first overall pick in the 2023 NFL Draft. However, they ended up trading it to the Carolina Panthers in exchange for a plethora of assets and ultimately got rewarded massively for being the worst team in the league.
The NFL Lottery would certainly bring excitement
In the NBA, the Detroit Pistons had the worst record this past season, but that resulted them in getting the fifth overall pick. As a result, tanking doesn't work in the NBA which is why football fans want commissioner Roger Goodell to adopt that strategy.
Whether or not the league will adopt a lottery system in the future remains to be seen, but if it is adopted, we could see a lot of changes in how teams approach the offseason. As of now, the traditional method will continue and we are likely to see a tanking race of the best order to land Caleb Williams next season.
