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The Best NFL Draft Picks in History for Selections 1-10
John Elway Was Actually Drafted By the Baltimore Colts
The NFL Draft begins Thursday, April 25. Pumped?
The draft is usually a hotly followed event. This year though, word is the 2013 talent pool is a bit shallow.
According to CBS, “a high-ranking team executive says this is the ‘worst draft in past 10 years or longer. When we look back at this draft in five or 10 years, we might view it as one of the worst we’ve seen in some time.’”
Whoa. We’ll see about that. Check out all the live NFL Draft coverage and pre- and post-draft analysis over at Bleacher Report.
On to today’s list, then. Fox Sports has put together a nifty slideshow. They went through every first-round selection of every year (since the draft began in 1936) and came up with a list of the best pick ever at every pick (1-32).
Here are the top 10, with some additional info – the teams and years of selection.
The far-left player column is Fox Sports’ selection for best at the pick. It’s very debatable, though, of course. So, alternates are provided.
You can see the whole slideshow (all 32 picks) here.
Is John Elway the best No. 1 pick of all time? What’s your opinion?
By the way, you can see every No. 1 pick in history here.
Follow @VinGetz| PLAYER | POS. | DRAFT TEAM (YEAR) | ALTERNATE | POS. | DRAFT TEAM (YEAR) | |
| 1. | John Elway | QB | Baltimore Colts (1983) | Peyton Manning | QB | Indianapolis Colts (1998) |
| Terry Bradshaw | QB | Pittsburgh Steelers (1970) | ||||
| Bruce Smith | DE | Buffalo Bills (1985) | ||||
| 2. | Lawrence Taylor | LB | New York Giants (1981) | Tony Dorsett | RB | Dallas Cowboys (1977) |
| Marshall Faulk | RB | Indianapolis Colts (1994) | ||||
| 3. | Barry Sanders | RB | Detroit Lions (1989) | Dick Butkus | LB | Chicago Bears (1965) |
| 4. | Walter Payton | RB | Chicago Bears (1975) | Otto Graham | QB-DB | Detroit Lions (1944) |
| 5. | Deion Sanders | DB-WR | Atlanta Falcons (1989) | Ladainian Tomlinson | RB | San Diego Chargers (2001) |
| Len Dawson | QB | Pittsburgh Steelers (1957) | ||||
| Junior Seau | LB | San Diego Chargers (1990) | ||||
| 6. | Jim Brown | FB | Cleveland Browns (1957) | Walter Jones | T | Seattle Seahawks (1997) |
| Torry Holt | WR | St. Louis Rams (1999) | ||||
| 7. | Champ Bailey | DB | Washington Redskins (1999) | Adrian Peterson | RB | Minnesota Vikings (2007) |
| Pat Richter | TE-P | Washington Redskins (1963) | ||||
| 8. | Ronnie Lott | DB | San Francisco 49ers (1991) | Larry Csonka | RB | Miami Dolphins (1968) |
| Lance Alworth | FL-WR | San Francisco 49ers (1962) | ||||
| Willie Roaf | T | New Orleans Saints (1993) | ||||
| 9. | Bruce Matthews | G-C-T | Houston Oilers (1983) | Brian Urlacher | LB | Chicago Bears (2000) |
| Jerome Brown | DT | Philadelphia Eagles (1987) | ||||
| 10. | Marcus Allen | RB | Oakland Raiders (1982) | Rod Woodson | DB | Pittsburgh Steelers (1987) |
| Willie Anderson | T | Cincinnati Bengals (1996) |
Photo: broncosnews.com
The Top-Selling NBA, NFL, MLB and NHL Jerseys
The New York Knicks’ Carmelo Anthony Has the Top-Selling NBA Jersey this Season
News was just released today that the New York Knicks‘ Carmelo Anthony has for the first time taken over the top slot for best-selling NBA jersey. He supplants the King, LeBron James, of the defending champion Miami Heat.
You can see who rounds out the top 10 below, along with the latest available rankings for the top-selling jerseys in the other major sports leagues: MLB, NFL and NHL.
The New York Yankees‘ Derek Jeter tops baseball’s list, followed by the now-Los Angeles Angels‘ Josh Hamilton (except his jersey sales were as a Texas Ranger. Tragic.).
The Washington Redskins‘ Robert Griffin III has topped all NFL jersey sales through March of this year. In fact, according to ESPN, he “set an all-time record for the number of jerseys sold by the NFL Shop in a year.”
For the NHL, I have two lists, since the first one is relatively stale – it reflects last season’s sales. The second list (of five) is the latest data through 2013. Look at Jonathan Toews. That Chicago Blackhawks‘ points streak put him on top.
Follow @VinGetzNBA (2012-13)
| 1. | Carmelo Anthony | New York Knicks |
| 2. | LeBron James | Miami Heat |
| 3. | Kevin Durant | Oklahoma City Thunder |
| 4. | Kobe Bryant | Los Angeles Lakers |
| 5. | Derrick Rose | Chicago Bulls |
| 6. | Deron Williams | Brooklyn Nets |
| 7. | Dwyane Wade | Miami Heat |
| 8. | Rajon Rondo | Boston Celtics |
| 9. | Chris Paul | Los Angeles Clippers |
| 10. | Blake Griffin | Los Angeles Clippers |
MLB (2012 through 2013 Opening Day)
| 1. | Derek Jeter | New York Yankees |
| 2. | Josh Hamilton | Texas Rangers* |
| 3. | Ichiro Suzuki | New York Yankees |
| 4. | Bryce Harper | Washington Nationals |
| 5. | Mike Trout | Los Angeles Angels |
| 6. | Andrew McCutchen | Pittsburgh Pirates |
| 7. | Yu Darvish | Texas Rangers |
| 8. | Chipper Jones | Atlanta Braves |
| 9. | Justin Verlander | Detroit Tigers |
| 10. | Robinson Cano | New York Yankees |
NFL (April 1, 2012 through March 31, 2013)
| 1. | Robert Griffin III | Washington Redskins |
| 2. | Peyton Manning | Denver Broncos |
| 3. | Ray Lewis | Baltimore Ravens |
| 4. | Colin Kaepernick | San Francisco 49ers |
| 5. | Tom Brady | New England Patriots |
| 6. | Andrew Luck | Indianapolis Colts |
| 7 | Aaron Rodgers | Green Bay Packers |
| 8. | Victor Cruz | New York Giants |
| 9. | Eli Manning | New York Giants |
| 10. | Patrick Willis | San Francisco 49ers |
NHL (2011-12)
| 1. | Claude Giroux | Philadelphia Flyers |
| 2. | Ryan Callahan | New York Rangers |
| 3. | Sidney Crosby | Pittsburgh Penguins |
| 4. | Alexander Ovechkin | Washington Capitals |
| 5. | Henrik Lundqvist | New York Rangers |
| 6. | Jonathan Toews | Chicago Blackhawks |
| 7. | Tim Thomas | Boston Bruins* |
| 8. | Patrick Kane | Chicago Blackhawks |
| 9. | Pavel Datsyuk | Detroit Red Wings |
| 10. | Jaromir Jagr | Philadelphia Flyers* |
NHL (2013)
| 1. | Jonathan Toews | Chicago Blackhawks |
| 2. | Sidney Crosby | Pittsburgh Penguins |
| 3. | Claude Giroux | Philadelphia Flyers |
| 4. | James Neal | Pittsburgh Penguins |
| 5. | Tyler Seguin | Boston Bruins |
Sources: NBA (usatoday.com) / MLB (forbes.com) / NFL (nflshop.com) / NHL (prohockeytalk.nbcsports.com and twitter.com)
Photo: baltimoresun.com
MLB, NFL, NBA and NHL 2013 Team Payrolls
The NFL Will Dole Out $4 Billion in Team Payroll in 2013
Billions and billions of dollars. Each of the four major North American sports have team payrolls over at least $1.6 billion, led by the NFL which will undoubtedly break the $4 billion barrier in 2013.
Check out all the totals below, by team and league.
These are the latest available figures for baseball (MLB), basketball (NBA), hockey (NHL) and football (NFL) team payrolls. The date of this original post is April 2, 2013, but you can track the most current information by clicking on my sources beneath the lists.
Follow @VinGetzLISTS UPDATED: April 4, 2013 thanks to USAToday’s latest baseball data.
Major League Baseball
| TEAM | 2013 OPENING PAYROLL | |
| 1. | New York Yankees | $228,835,490 |
| 2. | Los Angeles Dodgers | $216,597,577 |
| 3. | Philadelphia Phillies | $165,385,714 |
| 4. | Boston Red Sox | $150,655,500 |
| 5. | Detroit Tigers | $148,414,500 |
| 6. | San Francisco Giants | $140,264,334 |
| 7. | Los Angeles Angels | $127,896,250 |
| 8. | Chicago White Sox | $119,073,277 |
| 9. | Toronto Blue Jays | $117,527,800 |
| 10. | St. Louis Cardinals | $115,222,086 |
| 11. | Texas Rangers | $114,090,100 |
| 12. | Washington Nationals | $114,056,769 |
| 13. | Cincinnati Reds | $107,491,305 |
| 14. | Chicago Cubs | $104,304,676 |
| 15. | Baltimore Orioles | $90,993,333 |
| 16. | Atlanta Braves | $89,778,192 |
| 17. | Arizona Diamondbacks | $89,100,500 |
| 18. | Milwaukee Brewers | $82,976,944 |
| 19. | Kansas City Royals | $81,491,725 |
| 20. | Pittsburgh Pirates | $79,555,000 |
| 21. | Cleveland Indians | $77,772,800 |
| 22. | Minnesota Twins | $75,802,500 |
| 23. | New York Mets | $73,396,649 |
| 24. | Seattle Mariners | $72,031,143 |
| 25. | Colorado Rockies | $71,924,071 |
| 26. | San Diego Padres | $67,143,600 |
| 27. | Oakland Athletics | $60,664,500 |
| 28. | Tampa Bay Rays | $57,895,272 |
| 29. | Miami Marlins | $36,341,900 |
| 30. | Houston Astros | $22,062,600 |
| TOTAL | $3,098,746,107 |
National Basketball Association
| TEAM | 2012-2013 PAYROLL | |
| 1. | Los Angeles Lakers | $100,193,809 |
| 2. | Brooklyn Nets | $84,312,587 |
| 3. | Miami Heat | $83,836,131 |
| 4. | New York Knicks | $80,281,223 |
| 5. | Chicago Bulls | $75,584,120 |
| 6. | Boston Celtics | $72,183,530 |
| 7. | Los Angeles Clippers | $70,146,193 |
| 8. | Golden State Warriors | $69,676,341 |
| 9. | San Antonio Spurs | $69,558,278 |
| 10. | Detroit Pistons | $69,050,344 |
| 11. | Toronto Raptors | $67,583,145 |
| 12. | Oklahoma City Thunder | $67,555,731 |
| 13. | Orlando Magic | $67,284,905 |
| 14. | Utah Jazz | $67,143,084 |
| 15. | Atlanta Hawks | $66,940,287 |
| 16. | Indiana Pacers | $66,712,138 |
| 17. | Philadelphia 76ers | $65,846,268 |
| 18. | New Orleans Hornets | $64,339,443 |
| 19. | Denver Nuggets | $63,970,222 |
| 20. | Minnesota Timberwolves | $62,779,825 |
| 21. | Milwaukee Bucks | $62,531,497 |
| 22. | Dallas Mavericks | $62,487,408 |
| 23. | Memphis Grizzlies | $62,187,071 |
| 24. | Washington Wizards | $59,325,627 |
| 25. | Portland Trail Blazers | $57,933,149 |
| 26. | Charlotte Bobcats | $57,315,206 |
| 27. | Cleveland Cavaliers | $56,431,198 |
| 28. | Houston Rockets | $55,274,390 |
| 29. | Phoenix Suns | $53,732,694 |
| 30. | Sacramento Kings | $53,563,817 |
| TOTAL | $2,015,759,661 |
National Hockey League
| TEAM | 2012-2013 PAYROLL | |
| 1. | Philadelphia Flyers | $64,900,000 |
| 2. | Washington Capitals | $64,050,000 |
| 3. | Buffalo Sabres | $63,200,000 |
| 4. | Los Angeles Kings | $61,975,000 |
| 5. | Vancouver Canucks | $61,650,000 |
| 6. | Montreal Canadiens | $61,375,000 |
| 7. | Columbus Blue Jackets | $60,975,000 |
| 8. | Toronto Maple Leafs | $60,775,000 |
| 9. | Pittsburgh Penguins | $60,750,000 |
| 10. | Chicago Blackhawks | $60,425,000 |
| 11. | Calgary Flames | $60,225,000 |
| 12. | Anaheim Ducks | $59,450,000 |
| 13. | New York Rangers | $58,625,000 |
| 14. | Detroit Red Wings | $58,500,000 |
| 15. | Boston Bruins | $58,450,000 |
| 16. | Edmonton Oilers | $58,425,000 |
| 17. | San Jose Sharks | $58,000,000 |
| 18. | Tampa Bay Lightning | $57,775,000 |
| 19. | New Jersey Devils | $56,825,000 |
| 20. | Minnesota Wild | $54,225,000 |
| 21. | Florida Panthers | $52,825,000 |
| 22. | St. Louis Blues | $51,375,000 |
| 23. | Carolina Hurricanes | $50,500,000 |
| 24. | Phoenix Coyotes | $50,075,000 |
| 25. | Winnipeg Jets | $49,525,000 |
| 26. | Colorado Avalanche | $48,400,000 |
| 27. | Ottawa Senators | $48,225,000 |
| 28. | Dallas Stars | $48,050,000 |
| 29. | Nashville Predators | $47,750,000 |
| 30. | New York Islanders | $46,950,000 |
| TOTAL | $1,694,250,000 |
National Football League
As we are still in the midst of a wild free agent period, with players jumping from team to team, NFL payroll numbers are far from set for 2013, so here are the latest complete data available – last season’s. When free agency wraps up, and teams’ books are set, this will be updated for 2013.
You can keep an eye on each team’s varying cap space here or by searching for “NFL team-by-team cap space” for the latest date.
Meanwhile – the Kansas City Chiefs had the highest team payroll in football last year. What?!
| TEAM | 2012 PAYROLL | |
| 1. | Kansas City Chiefs | $128,051,400 |
| 2. | Chicago Bears | $126,358,124 |
| 3. | San Francisco 49ers | $124,707,285 |
| 4. | Detroit Lions | $116,478,991 |
| 5. | San Diego Chargers | $115,116,022 |
| 6. | New York Jets | $113,868,878 |
| 7. | New York Giants | $113,836,940 |
| 8. | Denver Broncos | $113,611,222 |
| 9. | Jacksonville Jaguars | $111,153,183 |
| 10. | Pittsburgh Steelers | $111,016,166 |
| 11. | Tampa Bay Buccaneers | $110,548,704 |
| 12. | Atlanta Falcons | $109,150,977 |
| 13. | Carolina Panthers | $108,668,521 |
| 14. | Green Bay Packers | $107,837,787 |
| 15. | Miami Dolphins | $106,519,214 |
| 16. | New Orleans Saints | $106,102,029 |
| 17. | Minnesota Vikings | $105,263,631 |
| 18. | Buffalo Bills | $104,920,583 |
| 19. | Washington Redskins | $104,305,244 |
| 20. | Philadelphia Eagles | $104,069,640 |
| 21. | Houston Texans | $103,440,468 |
| 22. | Dallas Cowboys | $102,805,104 |
| 23. | Tennessee Titans | $100,497,782 |
| 24. | Arizona Cardinals | $100,388,354 |
| 25. | Baltimore Ravens | $98,730,030 |
| 26. | Cleveland Browns | $97,251,684 |
| 27. | St. Louis Rams | $96,758,634 |
| 28. | New England Patriots | $96,393,528 |
| 29. | Seattle Seahawks | $96,177,975 |
| 30. | Cincinnati Bengals | $92,477,712 |
| 31. | Oakland Raiders | $90,432,050 |
| 32. | Indianapolis Colts | $80,801,342 |
| TOTAL | $3,397,739,204 |
Payroll information courtesy: usatoday.com (MLB), basketball-reference.com (NBA), altiusdirectory.com (NHL) and foxsports.com (NFL).
Photo: blogs.miaminewtimes.com
