NFL Draft 2023: Here is why there are only 31 selections in the first round this year

Hint: It's because of Tom Brady (and Sean Payton)

When the first round of the 2023 NFL Draft kicks off on Thursday night, something quite unusual will happen. Despite the fact that there are 32 NFL teams, only 31 selections will be made in the first round. 

Why is that happening? Blame Tom Brady. Kind of. Really, blame the Miami Dolphins for trying to get Tom Brady and Sean Payton to be their quarterback and head coach, and tampering in their efforts to do so. 

Last August, the NFL stripped the Dolphins of their first-round pick and a 2024 third-round pick, while owner Stephen Ross was fined $1.5 million and suspended for six weeks after a tampering investigation revealed that they "violat[ed] the integrity of the game."

The league's report noted that the Dolphins committed "tampering violations of unprecedented scope and severity." The report written by former U.S. Attorney Mary Jo White cited "impermissible communications" with Brady on two different occasions, focused on Brady becoming a limited partner in the Dolphins and possibly serving as a football executive," the investigation found, "although at times they also included the possibility of his playing for the Dolphins."

The investigation also found that the Dolphins had impermissible communications with Payton. "Miami did not seek consent from New Orleans to have these discussions, which occurred before Coach Payton announced his decision to retire as head coach of the Saints," the NFL said. "Following that announcement, Miami requested permission to speak to Coach Payton for the first time, which New Orleans declined to grant."

As a result, the Dolphins are not currently scheduled to make a selection in the first round on Thursday night. They would have had the No. 21 selection, which will instead be made by the Los Angeles Chargers. The Super Bowl Champion Kansas City Chiefs, meanwhile, will make the No. 31 pick, rather than No. 32.