The 2002 National Football League Expansion Draft was the most recent National Football League

National Football League

The National Football League is the highest level of professional American football in the United States, and is considered the top professional American football league in the world. It was formed by eleven teams in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, with the league changing...

 (NFL) draft

NFL Draft

The National Football League Draft is an annual event in which the National Football League teams select eligible college football players and it is their most common source of player recruitment. The basic design of the draft is each team is given a position in the drafting order in reverse order...

 in which a new expansion team

Expansion team

An expansion team is a brand new team in a sports league. The term is most commonly used in reference to the North American major professional sports leagues, but is applied to sports leagues worldwide that use a closed franchise system of league membership. The term comes from the expansion of the...

, named the Houston Texans

Houston Texans

The Houston Texans are a professional American football team based in Houston, Texas. The team is currently a member of the Southern Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...

, selected its first players. On October 6, 1999, in Atlanta

Atlanta, Georgia

Atlanta is the capital and most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia. According to the 2010 census, Atlanta's population is 420,003. Atlanta is the cultural and economic center of the Atlanta metropolitan area, which is home to 5,268,860 people and is the ninth largest metropolitan area in...

, NFL owners had unanimously voted to award the 32nd NFL franchise and the Super Bowl XXXVIII

Super Bowl XXXVIII

Super Bowl XXXVIII was an American football game played on February 1, 2004 at Reliant Stadium in Houston, Texas to decide the National Football League champion following the 2003 regular season....

 to the city of Houston, Texas

Houston, Texas

Houston is the fourth-largest city in the United States, and the largest city in the state of Texas. According to the 2010 U.S. Census, the city had a population of 2.1 million people within an area of . Houston is the seat of Harris County and the economic center of , which is the ...

. So that the Texans could become competitive with existing teams, the league awarded the Texans the first pick in the 2002 NFL Draft

2002 NFL Draft

The 2002 NFL Draft was the procedure by which National Football League teams selected amateur college football players. The draft is known officially as the "NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting" and has been conducted annually since 1936. The draft took place April 20–21, 2002 at the theater at...

 and gave them the opportunity to select current players from existing teams. That selection was provided by the expansion draft

Expansion draft

An expansion draft, in professional sports, occurs when a sports league decides to create one or more new expansion teams or franchises. This occurs mainly in North American sports. One of the ways of stocking the new team or teams is an expansion draft...

, held on February 18, 2002.

In this draft, held months before the regular draft, the existing franchises listed players from which the Texans could select to switch to the new team. This was the second expansion draft after the NFL had instituted the salary cap, which limited the total amount teams could spend on the their roster of players. Teams placed many quality players on the list who had large contracts, as the Texans were required to assume the contracts of those players if selected. The Texans selected three players with a total salary-cap value of $14.9 million from the Jacksonville Jaguars

Jacksonville Jaguars

The Jacksonville Jaguars are a professional American football team based in Jacksonville, Florida, U.S. They are currently members of the South Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...

, who were $23 million over the cap; three players with a total salary-cap value of $14.1 million from the New York Jets

New York Jets

The New York Jets are a professional football team headquartered in Florham Park, New Jersey, representing the New York metropolitan area. The team is a member of the Eastern Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...

, who were $16 million over the cap; and two players with a total salary-cap value of $7.1 million from the Baltimore Ravens

Baltimore Ravens

The Baltimore Ravens are a professional football franchise based in Baltimore, Maryland.The Baltimore Ravens are officially a quasi-expansion franchise, having originated in 1995 with the Cleveland Browns relocation controversy after Art Modell, then owner of the Cleveland Browns, announced his...

, who were $23 million over the cap. The list included 155 NFL players, 25 of whom were Pro Bowl

Pro Bowl

In professional American football, the Pro Bowl is the all-star game of the National Football League . Since the merger with the rival American Football League in 1970, it has been officially called the AFC–NFC Pro Bowl, matching the top players in the American Football Conference against those...

 players. The draft took place live and aired on ESPN

ESPN

Entertainment and Sports Programming Network, commonly known as ESPN, is an American global cable television network focusing on sports-related programming including live and pre-taped event telecasts, sports talk shows, and other original programming....

. The Texans drafted a total of nineteen players.

Process

Each NFL team listed five players that the Texans could select, and the Texans were required to claim either 30 players or $27.2 million in contracts (38% of the 2002 salary cap). After the Texans selected a player from an existing team, that team could remove a player from their remaining list. If a second player was taken, the existing team could then pull back its remaining two players. However, teams were not required to remove players from the draftable list, resulting in three Jets and three Jaguars being drafted to the Texans. The Texans were prohibited from selecting a player from a team and trading the player back to that club.

Player limitations

Existing teams were not allowed to put punters or kickers on the list, nor any player from their 2001 roster who would have become an unrestricted free agent in 2002. They could not list players who went on injured reserve during the 2001 summer's training camp nor any player who would become a restricted free agent after the 2001 season

2001 NFL season

The 2001 NFL season was the 82nd regular season of the National Football League.Following a pattern set in 1999, the first week of the season was permanently moved to the weekend following Labor Day...

. Their list could include only one player with more than 10 years' experience.

Salary cap ramifications

The Texans assumed the contracts of the players they selected, including all future portions of their signing bonuses and any guarantees or other terms. If the Texans cut a selection and he re-signed with his old team, the existing team re-assumed his signing bonus. Extra bonuses that did not count against the Texans' salary cap were given to veteran players who were selected. Those selected received $10,000 immediately, an additional $20,000 bonus for reporting to training camp, and another $30,000 for making the active roster during the regular season.

Player selections

= Pro Bowl Pro Bowl In professional American football, the Pro Bowl is the all-star game of the National Football League . Since the merger with the rival American Football League in 1970, it has been officially called the AFC–NFC Pro Bowl, matching the top players in the American Football Conference against those... er

Pick	|Position	|Salary Cap Figure
1	Tony Boselli Tony Boselli Don Anthony "Tony" Boselli, Jr. is a former American football offensive tackle. He spent nearly all of his professional career playing for the Jacksonville Jaguars of the National Football League ....	Offensive Tackle	Jacksonville Jaguars	$6,883,332
2	Ryan Young Ryan Young Ryan Young was an American football offensive tackle in the National Football League for the New York Jets, Houston Texans, and Dallas Cowboys. He played college football at Kansas State University and was drafted in the seventh round of the 1999 NFL Draft....	Offensive Tackle	New York Jets	$563,000
3	Aaron Glenn Aaron Glenn Aaron DeVon Glenn is a retired American football cornerback. He last played for the New Orleans Saints of the National Football League, although he joined the Houston Texans prior to retirement so he could retire with his former team. He was originally drafted by the New York Jets in the first...	Cornerback Cornerback A cornerback is a member of the defensive backfield or secondary in American and Canadian football. Cornerbacks cover receivers, to defend against pass offenses and make tackles. Other members of the defensive backfield include the safeties and occasionally linebackers. The cornerback position...	New York Jets	$8,013,177
4	Gary Walker Gary Walker Gary Lamar Walker is a former American football player who played defensive end, most recently for the Houston Texans of the NFL. He accumulated 148 tackles and 15 sacks in two seasons at Auburn University, earning second-team All-Southeastern Conference honors as a senior. Before Auburn, he...	Defensive Tackle	Jacksonville Jaguars	$5,250,000
5	Jamie Sharper Jamie Sharper Harry James Sharper, Jr. is a former American football player who played in the NFL from 1997 through 2005. He played college football at the University of Virginia. He is the older brother of safety Darren Sharper.-Professional career:The Baltimore Ravens selected Sharper with the 34th overall...	Linebacker Linebacker A linebacker is a position in American football that was invented by football coach Fielding H. Yost of the University of Michigan. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and line up approximately three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage, behind the defensive linemen...	Baltimore Ravens	$2,875,000
6	Jermaine Lewis Jermaine Lewis Jermaine Edward Lewis is a retired American football wide receiver in the National Football League. He was originally drafted in the fifth round of the 1996 NFL Draft by the Baltimore Ravens, who he played for until 2001...	Wide Receiver Wide receiver A wide receiver is an offensive position in American and Canadian football, and is the key player in most of the passing plays. Only players in the backfield or the ends on the line are eligible to catch a forward pass. The two players who begin play at the ends of the offensive line are eligible...	Baltimore Ravens	$4,289,333
7	Marcus Coleman Marcus Coleman Marcus Coleman is a former safety in the National Football League . Coleman played college football at Texas Tech. He was signed by the Dallas Cowboys as a free agent on April 18, 2006, and was selected by the Houston Texans in the 2002 NFL Expansion Draft and played with that team for three seasons...	Cornerback	New York Jets	$5,480,750
8	Seth Payne Seth Payne Seth Copeland Payne is an American football defensive tackle who is currently a free agent. He was originally drafted by the Jacksonville Jaguars in the fourth round of the 1997 NFL Draft....	Defensive Tackle	Jacksonville Jaguars	$2,775,000
9	Matt Campbell	Offensive Guard	Washington Redskins Washington Redskins The Washington Redskins are a professional American football team and members of the East Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The team plays at FedExField in Landover, Maryland, while its headquarters and training facility are at Redskin Park in Ashburn,...	$875,000
10	Matt Stevens	Safety	New England Patriots New England Patriots The New England Patriots, commonly called the "Pats", are a professional football team based in the Greater Boston area, playing their home games in the town of Foxborough, Massachusetts at Gillette Stadium. The team is part of the East Division of the American Football Conference in the National...	$565,000
11	Jeremy McKinney	Offensive Guard	Cleveland Browns Cleveland Browns The Cleveland Browns are a professional football team based in Cleveland, Ohio. They are currently members of the North Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...	$405,760
12	Ryan Schau Ryan Schau Ryan A. Schau is a former American football offensive lineman in the National Football League for the Philadelphia Eagles and Houston Texans. He played college football at the University of Illinois.-References:...	Offensive Tackle	Philadelphia Eagles Philadelphia Eagles The Philadelphia Eagles are a professional American football team based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. They are members of the East Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...	$563,000
13	Charlie Rogers Charlie Rogers John Edward Rogers is a former American football running back and wide receiver in the NFL for the Seattle Seahawks , the Buffalo Bills and the Miami Dolphins ....	Kick Returner Kick returner In American and Canadian football, a kick returner is the player on special teams who is primarily responsible to catch kickoffs and attempts to return them in the opposite direction. If the ball is kicked into his own endzone, he must assess the situation on the field while the ball is in the...	Seattle Seahawks Seattle Seahawks The Seattle Seahawks are a professional American football team based in Seattle, Washington. They are currently members of the Western Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The team joined the NFL in 1976 as an expansion team...	$563,000
14	Sean McDermott Sean McDermott (long snapper) Sean McDermott is a former American football long snapper in the National Football League. He was signed as an undrafted free agent by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 2001. He played college football at Kansas....	Tight End Tight end The tight end is a position in American football on the offense. The tight end is often seen as a hybrid position with the characteristics and roles of both an offensive lineman and a wide receiver. Like offensive linemen, they are usually lined up on the offensive line and are large enough to be...	Tampa Bay Buccaneers Tampa Bay Buccaneers The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are a professional American football franchise based in Tampa, Florida, U.S. They are currently members of the Southern Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League – they are the only team in the division not to come from the old NFC West...	$300,000
15	Jabari Issa	Defensive End Defensive end Defensive end is the name of a defensive position in the sport of American and Canadian football.This position has designated the players at each end of the defensive line, but changes in formations have substantially changed how the position is played over the years...	Arizona Cardinals Arizona Cardinals The Arizona Cardinals are a professional American football team based in Glendale, Arizona, a suburb of Phoenix. They are currently members of the Western Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...	$397,666
16	Avion Black Avion Black Avion Carlos Black is a former American football wide receiver/kick returner in the National Football League...	Wide Receiver	Buffalo Bills Buffalo Bills The Buffalo Bills are a professional football team based in Buffalo, New York. They are currently members of the East Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...	$460,000
17	Danny Wuerffel Danny Wuerffel Daniel Carl "Danny" Wuerffel is a former American college and professional football player who won the 1996 Heisman Trophy and the 1996 national football championship while playing college football for the University of Florida. After graduating from Florida, he played for four National Football...	Quarterback Quarterback Quarterback is a position in American and Canadian football. Quarterbacks are members of the offensive team and line up directly behind the offensive line...	Chicago Bears Chicago Bears The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago, Illinois. They are members of the North Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...	$555,760
18	Brian Allen	Linebacker	St. Louis Rams St. Louis Rams The St. Louis Rams are a professional American football team based in St. Louis, Missouri. They are currently members of the West Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The Rams have won three NFL Championships .The Rams began playing in 1936 in Cleveland,...	$452,000
19	Johnny Huggins	Tight End	Dallas Cowboys Dallas Cowboys The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football franchise which plays in the Eastern Division of the National Football Conference of the National Football League . They are headquartered in Valley Ranch in Irving, Texas, a suburb of Dallas...	$300,000