Mr. Irrelevant - Ryan Succop
Last in the NFL draft, first during Irrelevant Week.
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Ryan Succop, Mr. Irrelevant 2009. Image courtesy of Irrelevant Week.
On April 26, 2009, former NFL wide receiver Paul Salata, 82, ambled to the podium located center stage at Radio City Music Hall in New York and made the following announcement: “With the 256th pick of the 2009 NFL draft—and final pick—the Kansas City Chiefs select Ryan Succop, kicker, South Carolina. He becomes the 34th Mr. Irrelevant, and will be feted in June in Newport Beach, California, the fun capital of the world.” Standing beside Salata, an unidentified individual held a red Chiefs jersey with the number 256 and “Mr. Irrelevant” stitched on the back, highlighting Succop’s newfound status and reminding observers that 255 pro prospects had been selected ahead of him.
Of course, in every NFL draft someone has to be chosen last. But thanks to Salata, that player is referred to as Mr. Irrelevant. In 1976, the long-since-retired receiver came up with the offbeat idea of honoring the last man drafted by offering said individual a free trip to California. Then-NFL commissioner Pete Rozelle—who knew Salata through Paul’s volunteer work with his former team, the San Francisco 49ers—embraced the idea, and that spring Toledo running back Kelvin Kirk (selected at the bottom of the 17th round by the Pittsburgh Steelers) agreed to spend a week in Newport Beach. For his part, Salata promised that Kirk would be “treated like the first player drafted,” who, in case you’re wondering, was defensive end Lee Roy Selmon, chosen by the expansion Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
The first Irrelevant Week got off to a shaky start, though, when Kirk missed his flight, and Salata & friends were forced to begin an introductory press conference without their special guest. Fortunately, none of the local media knew what Kirk looked like, which enabled the organizers to use a local butcher as a stand-in. “When Kirk arrived he literally elbowed the butcher out of the way and we kept going,” recalls Paul’s daughter, Melanie Salata Fitch, who now serves as chief executive of Irrelevant Week.
Not surprisingly, Kirk failed to win a roster spot with the Steelers, a two-time defending Super Bowl champion that featured future Hall of Fame running back Franco Harris. (For what it’s worth, Selmon’s career got off to an inauspicious start too, as Tampa Bay lost its first 26 regular season games before finally earning a win late in the 1977 season.) But the inaugural Irrelevant Week went well enough that Salata resolved to make it an annual tradition, and it’s been a fixture on the NFL landscape ever since.
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