The NFL’s draft has two rounds, the supplemental draft and the Super Bowl. Each round of the draft has an official schedule. The schedules give every team the chance to pick one player that will be a “hot prospect”. Prospects get exposed throughout the NFL, from mini-camps to the combine and then the draft. Prospects also have exposure on tape or on the Internet through NFL Network, the Pro Bowl, scouting camps and combine activities.
One way to keep yourself “in the picture” for the NFL is to submit your athletic information to UFA. This information is sent out to every team in the NFL. Prospects can meet with the various coaches and executives who will visit college campuses across the United States to watch practice and get a feel for pro football. Prospects can also meet with coaches and executives in the NFL.
The Russian National Football Team (RUS) was the first one to use the term “Unlimited Free Agents”. This is what the acronym stands for: “Unlimited Freedom Agents”. In the early days, it was referred to as “bags of cards”. It is not uncommon to see players signing ten or twenty additional contracts with their international teams each year. Since the NFL is in Russia now, there are definite prospects of this type of thing occurring in the future.
The other way that the Russian football world war refers to UFA is through “Bashkir”. In the Russian language, the word “Bashkir” literally means “one shoulder”. Players who wear shoulder pads are considered to be “Bashkirs”. The only difference between a player wearing shoulder pads and a “Bashkir” is that the latter does not mean that he is a member of the armed forces, but rather a loose cannon on the street who participates in Russian football tournaments to earn a little money.
The word “Bashkir” is also used when referring to teams practicing on a street in Izhevsk, a city center within Russia. The players practice in these shoes for a couple hours and then go back to their hotels. If a player wins a match, he may enter into a draw for another player with the same shirt and boots. The winner of the draw receives a similar contract to that of the loser.
Whether it’s from the players or fans or the fans of the clubs, the concept of the “Unlimited Free Agents” has caught on well in Russia and across the world. A few high-profile soccer players have been named the UFA men’s player of the year. These include forwards Kimmo Fanta and Aleksandr Kerzhakov and goalkeeper Petrulo. As time goes on, other stars are bound to join the roster.