On this edition of In Black America, producer/host John L. Hanson Jr. speaks with Jarrett Bell, NFL columnist for USA Today Sports, ESPN's NFL ‘Insiders,’ and a member of the Board of Selectors – Pro Football Hall of Fame.
In the 2014 NFL draft - 98 underclassmen were granted special eligibility for the draft. That's up from 73 last year, 65 in 2012 and 56 in 2011, which all were records, too. The total rises to 102 when including four players who informed the NFL they've graduated. Players who have not used up their college eligibility can apply for the draft if they're at least three years removed from their high school graduating class and submit a written application.
The National Football League is composed of 32 teams divided equally between the National Football Conference and the American Football Conference. The NFL was formed on August 20th, 1920 as the American Professional Football Conference – after two name changes – it became the NFL on June 24th, 1922.
Born and raised in Detroit, MI, Bell has been covering the NFL for more than three decades. After spending his teen years hanging around Olympia Stadium where the Detroit Red Wings played – he decided sports was the area he wanted to make a living in.
