Draft pick forfeitures and penalties

Under the NFL constitution, the Commissioner has the ability to take away or change the order of a team’s draft picks if he finds that that team has committed certain acts that violated the constitution or are otherwise detrimental to the league or alter a competitive balance.

This power has been rarely used — just a few dozen times since the NFL instituted the common draft in 1936.

The list does not include instances where the NFL commissioner essentially brokered or unilaterally declared a trade between teams. Examples of these situations excluded from this list are: (1) compensation for a 1963-74 “Rozelle Rule” free agent; (2) compensation for tampering with another team’s coach (Bill Parcells, Bill Belichick); and (3) correction of a trade error (the Redskins traded their 1973 first-rounder to two teams in two separate trades; one was changed to a 1974 first-rounder). We are including in this list instances where the commissioner swapped positions between teams when an infraction caused a competitive inequity.

If a team runs out the clock on their pick, that team may submit their selection at any time, but will drop below any team that drafts in the interim. Those cases are also not included.

Also, teams forfeit a choice in the upcoming regular draft when they make a selection in a supplemental draft. Those cases are not included here, as the team essentially is “advanced” their choice a year early.

Draft pick forfeitures and other draft-day penalties, 1936-present

The sanctions in the are numbered sequentially. Multiple picks affected by the same sanction are designated with letters, and the “&” symbol in the infraction column. *Number includes forfeited picks earlier in the same draft. For swapped or demoted picks, the number of positions penalized is a superscript negative number.

Last updated March 19, 2024, to add 49ers demotion and forfeiture.