‘The great American crapshoot’: How Bert Bell saved the NFL with the draft

The Eagles owner and future NFL commissioner became disillusioned as the big teams swept up the best players. But he had a simple solution to ensure parity

The NFL draft, which starts on Thursday, has become a spectacular, three-day, wall-to-wall TV blowout watched by millions. But Upton Bell insists that its basic appeal has not changed all that much since the first draft was held 86 years ago.

It's the great American crapshoot," Bell tells the Guardian from his home in Cambridge, Massachusetts, referring to the uncertain future of any draftee - or the team that drafts him.