'No Tanking'? NFL Discusses Draft Lottery; Potential Impact On Cowboys

The NFL Competition Committee has discussed the idea of a lottery system for the draft. How would this impact the Dallas Cowboys?

FRISCO - The selection order of the NFL Draft has as simple of a process as there is. There is no lottery like the NBA or NHL to determine where the losingest teams will be making their selection. Could that change in the future?

During an interview with SiriusXM NFL Radio, commissioner Roger Goodell was asked about the likelihood of a potential implementation of a lottery system. It has become more of a focus after recent allegations of tanking against the Cleveland Browns and Miami Dolphins. 

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Goodell did not dismiss the possibility of a lottery system for the NFL Draft. He even revealed the NFL Competition Committee regularly discusses the possibility of such a change. 

"The Competition Committee talks about it on a, I would say, a regular basis," Goodell said, via Pro Football Talk. "I haven't heard it in the last couple years, but I never say never about any of those things. It may come a time where we think it's appropriate."

Goodell explained how the current system "works" since the NFL doesn't have a tanking problem. It was an interesting aspect of his explanation, given the recent allegations against a few teams. 

"We think that the [current] system works really well the way it does," Goodell said. "Our teams, as you know, they're not into tanking. These teams work and play hard, and they play hard no matter the circumstances, and that's something that we're really proud of in our game."

A lottery system isn't a perfect fix to resolve tanking by any stretch. Teams in the NBA continue to deploy drastic measures to maximize their draft positioning in the lottery order, even if it's no guarantee they can land the No. 1 overall pick or even a top-three selection. 

A prime example is the Oklahoma City Thunder reaching buyout agreements or making trades to part with veterans while stacking up on future draft picks. Also, take the Houston Rockets paying John Wall's $44.3 million supermax salary while having him sit out the whole season despite being healthy as another prime example.

With NFL careers typically not being extended, there isn't as much incentive for a team to waste a year of the prime for their core players. Unless, of course, a top prospect is a transcendent quarterback prospect that can step in and change their franchise. Even in those situations, it's no guarantee to pan out as expected. 

The Cowboys would have found themselves potentially being impacted by the lottery system in the 2021 NFL Draft. Ultimately, they selected Micah Parsons with the No. 12 overall pick. Take the NBA, for example; the No. 12 lottery odds hold a 7.1 percent chance of a top-four selection and a 1.5 percent chance of the No. 1 overall pick.