WHAT: 69th Annual National Football League Player Selection Meeting.
WHERE: The Theater at Madison Square Garden, between 31st and 33rd Streets in New York City.
WHEN: 11 a.m. CT, Saturday, April 24, 2004 (Rounds 1-3). Break 10 a.m. CT, Sunday, April 25, 2004 (Rounds 4-7).
The first three rounds will conclude on Saturday by approximately 9 p.m. CT. In 2003, the first round consumed four hours and 58 minutes; the second, two hours and 16 minutes; and the third, one hour and 30 minutes. The draft will resume on Sunday at 10 a.m. CT for the final four rounds, ending at approximately 5 p.m. CT.
DRAFTING: Representatives of the 32 NFL clubs by telephone communication with their general managers, coaches and scouts.
ROUNDS: Seven Rounds -- Rounds 1 through 3 on Saturday, April 24; and Rounds 4 through 7 on Sunday, April 25.
There will be 255 selections, including 32 compensatory choices that have been awarded to 16 teams which suffered a net loss of certain quality unrestricted free agents last year.
The following 32 compensatory choices will supplement the 223 regular choices in the seven rounds -- Round 3: Cincinnati, 33. Round 4: Philadelphia, 33; St. Louis, 34; Philadelphia, 35; NY Jets, 36. Round 5: Tennessee, 33. Round 6: San Francisco, 33; Baltimore, 34; Houston, 35; St. Louis, 36. Round 7: NY Jets, 33; NY Jets, 34; NY Jets, 35; St. Louis, 36; St. Louis, 37; Tennessee, 38; New Orleans, 39; Tennessee, 40; Philadelphia, 41; Philadelphia, 42; Baltimore, 43; Oakland, 44; Baltimore, 45; Denver, 46; Houston, 47; Jacksonville, 48; Denver, 49; Green Bay, 50; Tampa Bay, 51; NY Giants, 52; San Diego, 53; Oakland, 54.
New England has two selections in the first round -- Nos. 21 and 32. Baltimore does not have a first-round pick. All other teams have one first-round selection.
TIME LIMITS: Round 1-- 15 minutes each team. Round 2 -- 10 minutes each team. Rounds 3 through 7 -- five minutes each team.
PLAYERS AT DRAFT: The following players will be at the draft at Madison Square Garden on Saturday: Iowa OT Robert Gallery, Virginia Tech CB DeAngelo Hall, Mississippi QB Eli Manning, North Carolina State QB Philip Rivers, Miami (Ohio) QB Ben Roethlisberger, Texas WR Roy Williams and Miami (Fla.) TE Kellen Winslow Jr.
TELEVISION: ESPN/ESPN2 will televise the draft in its entirety. On Saturday, ESPN will carry the draft from 11:00 a.m. CT to 6:00 p.m. CT. ESPN2 will pick up coverage from 6:00 p.m. CT to the conclusion of the third round. On Sunday, ESPN will be on the air from 10:00 a.m. CT-noon CT, with ESPN 2 picking up coverage from noon CT to the end of the draft.
TICKETS: Free tickets to the 2004 NFL Draft will be made available to fans on a first-come, first-serve basis on Saturday, April 24. The tickets will be distributed at the Madison Square Garden box office beginning at 9:00 a.m. ET on Saturday. Tickets also will be available on Sunday beginning at 9:00 a.m. ET.
One ticket will be distributed per person. Tickets for the lower 200 level will be assigned seats. The higher 300 level will be general admission. All packages will be checked. Doors will open at 10:30 a.m. ET on Saturday and 10:00 a.m. ET on Sunday. The Theater at Madison Square Garden seats 4,000 fans for the draft.
