NFL Draft Clock

The MMQB presents NFL 95, a special project running through mid-July detailing 95 artifacts that tell the story of the NFL, as the league prepares to enter its

The MMQB presents NFL 95, a special project running through mid-July detailing 95 artifacts that tell the story of the NFL, as the league prepares to enter its 95th season. See the entire series here.

The phrase “on the clock” has been synonymous with the NFL draft since the league’s annual player selection meeting dramatically increased in popularity in the 1990s. A clock used to track the amount of time each team had to make its selection in each round. NFL teams are still on the clock to this day, but it’s not the same clock. The time piece used by the NFL for every draft from 1995-2012—all 4,550 players—is now deep in the archives at the Pro Football Hall of Fame. The 4½-foot-by-5½-foot old-school scoreboard clock hung above the NFL’s draft stage at Madison Square Garden (1995-2004), the Javits Convention Center (2005) and Radio City Music Hall (2006-12).

— Greg Bedard

NFL 95: Read the Series