The line you’ll hear over the next several weeks is the Pittsburgh Steelers have never selected a player in the Supplemental Draft. It would make QB Brendan Sorsby the first, should Pittsburgh go down that road.
That is mostly true. In the Supplemental Draft as we know it today, the team hasn’t made a pick. There was, however, an exception in 1984 where Pittsburgh drafted three players from the pool.
What happened that year? The league’s additional draft didn’t feature college players. Instead, it pooled USFL and CFL players for teams to claim.
At the time, the USFL served as a real NFL competitor and had taken some of football’s top talent. Steve Young signed a 10-year, $40 million deal with the Los Angeles Express, convinced by that gaudy sum ($128 million in today’s dollars) to pick the USFL over the NFL.
But the league had problems and was always teetering on collapse. Formed in 1983, the USFL shut down by August 1986. There were problems with ownership and management, and players were looking back toward the NFL as an escape hatch. Or, at least, a backup plan.
Even Young, the league’s star, had his issues. That “$40 million” contract was mostly based on a long-term annuity that would pay out until he was 60, but was touted as a giant immediate contract as the USFL attempted to flex its financial muscles.
Should the USFL fold, the NFL didn’t want a free-for-all free agent frenzy. Its solution was the 1984 Supplemental Draft, a more orderly way for teams to obtain rights of players. Eligible were those who were supposed to be part of the ’84 draft but signed with the USFL or CFL. The rules functioned like a “normal” draft and unlike today’s version, didn’t require teams giving up future picks to make these selections.
The draft was held June 5, 1984. For the Steelers’ sake, it generated little buzz. The headline at the time was on Terry Bradshaw’s future and the highly likely end of his career. Headlining the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette the following day was: “Bradshaw faces new surgery … and apparently end of career”
Bradshaw revealed he was underdoing surgery in July to repair ligament damage in his right arm suffered in what would be his final appearance in 1983. He still held out hope of a return, but the organization told a different story.
“What a great career…we will miss Terry,” Dan Rooney said.
The most interest of the draft was from the USFL perspective. The Pittsburgh Maulers were part of the league and saw star RB/FB Mike Rozier get drafted 2nd overall to the Houston Oilers. Steve Young was selected first with Gary Zimmerman third and Reggie White fourth. All three are Hall of Famers.
“Maulers Downplay NFL Draft of Rozier” the Pittsburgh Press’ article read as ownership pushed back on the notion their league was about to be pillaged.
“Whatever they offer him, we can match the money and keep him,” Maulers GM George Heddleston said.
Rozier would jump to the Oilers in 1985 and spent seven seasons in the league. Far from a Hall of Famer, but he had steady NFL career.
Like most teams, Pittsburgh made three selections: receiver Duane Gunn with the 23rd overall pick, center Tom Dixon at No. 52 and offensive tackle Phil Boren at No. 79.
The papers paid little mind. Tucked at the top of the PPG’s story about Rozier was a rectangular box with brief info on all three. Gunn caught just seven passes for the Los Angeles Express that spring, giving the pick little fanfare.
Gunn never played for the Steelers. Pittsburgh released his rights that August and he remained with the Express. He caught 32 passes for them in 1985. Here’s one of them from Young himself.
In 2004, Gunn pled guilty to one count of mail fraud and one count of money laundering in an apparent mortgage loan scam. He now works in sales in Indianapolis.
Dixon joined the Steelers in May of 1985, opting against moving to Oakland when his Michigan Panthers merged teams. He quit Pittsburgh and left camp in late July. In March of this year, he was inducted into the Indiana Football Hall of Fame.
Boren stayed with Birmingham until his release in January 1985. He became a successful real estate agent now in the Sacramento area.
Those three names never played a down in Pittsburgh yet still occupy a quirky piece of Steelers history during an unusual time for the NFL.
If Brendan Sorsby becomes Pittsburgh’s pick next month, he’ll be the first supplemental selection from the college side, but technically not the first ever.