Draft Day

Draft Day is a 2014 American sports drama film directed by Ivan Reitman, and starring Kevin Costner and Jennifer Garner. The premise revolves around the fictional general manager of the Cleveland Browns (Costner) deciding what to do after his team acquires the number one draft pick in the upcoming National Football League Draft.

The film premiered in Los Angeles on April 7, 2014 and was released in the United States on April 11, 2014. It received mixed reviews from critics and was a box office failure grossing only $29 million against its $25 million budget. The film was Reitman's final directorial effort and Jim Brown's final acting role before their deaths in 2022 and 2023 respectively.

Plot
The movie opens in New York City, where it is almost 13 hours until the NFL Draft officially begins. In Seattle, the Seattle Seahawks owner discusses the top draft pick with general manager Tom Michaels. In Cleveland, the general manager of the Cleveland Browns, Sonny Weaver Jr., watches as a news report discusses the predicted top picks for the draft. Sonny and Ali (The Brown’s finance manager and Sonny’s love interest) have a tense discussion about Ali's pregnancy. While watching ESPN reports on top prospects he writes down something on a note and puts it in his pocket. Sonny talks to Tom about the possibility of trading draft picks. Tom offers to trade the Seahawks number one draft pick for Sonny's top picks for the next two years as well as his third pick for the third year, Sonny refuses the offer.

Sonny discusses the draft and salary terms with potential pick Vontae Mack, who mentions opting out of attending the draft in New York to watch it with family in Virginia. Additionally, Sonny converses with Earl Jennings regarding the possibility of his son Ray Jennings being drafted by the Browns. Sonny and Browns owner Anthony brainstorm strategies to boost ticket sales, with Anthony threatening to fire Sonny and the head coach if they do not improve the Browns performance, telling Sonny to "make a splash". Sonny changes his decision and contacts Michaels about the initial agreement. Michaels suggests modifying the last pick from the third round to a first-round pick. Reluctantly, Sonny agrees to the revised deal.

Sonny announces to the Browns facility about the deal he made. They're initially thrilled but become dismayed upon hearing they forfeited the next 3 top picks. Anthony congratulates Sonny and heads to the draft to give Bo Callahan, the presumed number one draft pick, a personalized Browns jersey.

Nine hours before the draft, Sonny talks to Bo's agent, Cris Crawford, regarding Bo. Cris passes the phone to Bo, and Sonny inquires about Bo's feelings on winning, but Sonny is underwhelmed by his response. Sonny and Coach Penn dispute Sonny's choice to make the trade, with Penn expressing his dislike for rookie quarterbacks.

Sonny discusses Vontae's tweet regarding the trade, where Vontae mentions sacking Callahan four times, causing Bo to fold each time. Sonny and the training coach assess Brian Drew's progress during the off-season despite his injury-prone status. Sonny analyzes Callahan's weaknesses, seeking to determine if they are tolerable flaws. He confides in Ali about his concerns regarding parenthood and their relationship, prompting Ali to share her own fears and flaws. Their discussion is interrupted by news of Drew trashing Sonny's office.

Sonny confronts Drew about the incident, who demands a trade because Callahan plays the same position. Sonny advises Drew to focus on what he can control rather than worrying about Callahan. Meanwhile, in Kansas City, Chiefs' general manager Pete Begler expresses interest in acquiring Drew for the quarterback position.

Sonny then discusses Callahan's background with Ralph, the Browns background checker, learning that none of Callahan's teammates attended his twenty-first birthday party. Sonny brings up the party and subsequent robbery incident with Bo's college coach, Coach Moore, who angrily denies Sonny's suggestion that Bo was disliked by his teammates. Buffalo Bills general manager Max Stone contacts Sonny about trading Callahan for the Bills' first two-year picks and a running back. Sonny argues with Coach Penn about Penn's discussion with the Bills coach regarding a potential trade behind Sonny's back. Ultimately, Sonny refuses the trade.

Sonny and the Browns staff watch footage between the Ohio State Buckeyes and Wisconsin and see how Bo reacted to being sacked by Vontae. Sonny and Ralph talk about Washington's playbook, where a $100 bill is taped at the end to see if players read it. Ralph informs Sonny that Callahan never read the whole playbook and lied twice about it when confronted. He also informs him that Brian Drew was the only one to read the entire playbook and return the $100 bill. Houston Texans general manager Bill Zoti calls Sonny to ask him about Vontae as they are interested in drafting him. Sonny's mother Barb talks about his father's wish to have his ashes spread on the 50 yard line. Sonny and Ali talk about Sonny firing his father, where Sonny confesses that it was really his mother's idea to have his father fired as his doctors warned that coaching would be detrimental to his health.

An hour before the draft begins, Sonny calls Callahan to inquire about his teammates attending the party, to which Bo responds that he doesn't remember anything from that night. Sonny and Ali discuss the right pick, mentioning Tom Brady's unexpected rise in the past. The 2014 Draft officially commences with the Browns on a 10-minute timer. Sonny decides to make the pick independently and selects Vontae Mack, surprising everyone by discarding the Post-It note stating "Vontae Mack no matter what."

As Callahan starts to drop in the draft due to the Browns' decision, Sonny calls Jacksonville Jaguars general manager Jeff Carson, expressing doubts about Callahan's character and offering to trade his second pick for the next three years for Jeff's sixth pick, which Jeff accepts. Sonny negotiates with Michaels to reclaim his number ones, citing Seahawks fans' discontent and the cost-saving aspect of drafting Callahan. The deal is finalized, with Sonny using the pick to select Ray Jennings, leading to celebration among the Browns.

Sonny reunites with his mother and shares the news of impending parenthood with Ali. The film concludes with the kickoff of the Browns' season.

Cast
As well, a number of NFL players, executives and sportscasters had cameo appearances as themselves, including: Chris Berman, Russ Brandon, Jim Brown, Rich Eisen, Roger Goodell, Jon Gruden, Bernie Kosar, Ray Lewis and Alex Marvez.

Production
Draft Day writers, Rajiv Joseph and Scott Rothman, met while attending graduate school at New York University. They bonded over their love of both writing and football and joked around about the idea of creating something together. It wasn’t until years later, a mutual friend of theirs mentioned that despite not being a fan of football, she found watching the NFL Draft enjoyable. This led Joseph and Rothman to get into contact with the then general manager of the New York Jets, Mike Tannenbaum. They had a call with him and asked him many questions about what the environment of Draft Day was like for the managers. They quickly realized that despite their love of football, they had no idea the way that the Draft played out. They continued to think about a possible story they could tell and what characters or plots they could bring to a football movie. The two writers eventually wrote a very rushed first screenplay of Draft Day to submit to the Sundance Institute for a Screenwriter’s Lab in September of 2011. They were not accepted into the program, but were able to spend more time revising the script.

After some revising, the writer duo were able to meet with a producer in LA and were told that the script was not good and would never be made. However, things began looking up for Draft Day when director Ivan Reitman contacted the writers and told them he wanted to make their movie. Paramount Pictures was originally set to produce the film, but dropped out, leaving the team at a loss of what to do. Reitman was convinced the movie could be a major production, and eventually got Oddlot Entertainment and Summit Entertainment on board.

When the idea was first made public, the film was to be centered on the Buffalo Bills, but the studio subsequently changed it to the Cleveland Browns because of cheaper production costs in Ohio.

Typically, screenwriters are not needed after the movie goes into production, however Joseph and Rothman were called to set nearly daily to meet with star Kevin Costner to go over the script and make any needed adjustments. Because of this, the script was often changed on the fly during the shooting days.

The first day of filming took place during the day of the actual 2013 NFL Draft at Radio City Music Hall. Actual SportCenter casters Chris Berman and Mel Kiper, as well as the NFL commissioner Roger Goodell read lines for the movie right before the actual draft started. Crowd reactions of fans at the actual 2013 NFL Draft, as well as Cleveland Browns fans at local bars, were filmed. Cameos with real-life NFL figures such as league commissioner Roger Goodell and ESPN sportscaster Chris Berman were filmed before and after the draft took place. The rest of the film began filming on May 8, 2013.

2014 NFL Draft
As in the film, the Cleveland Browns made splashes at the draft, trading up to select quarterback Johnny Manziel with the 22nd pick. The team also made several deals, trading away their fourth pick to the Buffalo Bills for their ninth pick, as well as their 2015 first round pick. They later traded up to the eighth pick to draft Justin Gilbert. Finally, after watching Manziel drop farther than projected, they again traded up for the 22nd pick. Chris Berman, who played himself in the fictionalized draft, commented at the 2014 NFL Draft that the events surrounding the Cleveland Browns were more exciting than the film. Unlike the film, the Browns selected the much-hyped Heisman Trophy winning quarterback, as opposed to passing on Bo Callahan, the fictionalized first pick favorite.

Marketing
The first poster and trailer for the film were released on December 23, 2013.

Critical response
Chicago Sun-Times critic Richard Roeper gave the film a "B", stating the film is "a sentimental, predictable, sometimes implausible but thoroughly entertaining, old-fashioned piece."

Ian Rapoport, an NFL Network Insider who held multiple brief cameos throughout the film, admitted that there are “plenty of things that aren’t exactly the way it goes” within the actual drafting process. And then goes on to praise the film on how NFL general managers “do talk about trades as they did during the movie,” and the honest discussions real people may have.

On the contrary, Jack Hamilton of Slate was harshly critical. "The 'filmmaking' here consists of making sure the camera is pointed at people who are explaining the film's plot to one another, preferably while they are wearing logos and standing in front of more logos," he wrote. He suggested the NFL's involvement had made the film too upbeat. "[It] isn't so much a movie as a movielike infomercial for the kinder, gentler NFL ... In the wake of labor strife, off-field scandals, and the ongoing CTE concussions crisis, the NFL is doubling down on its fantasy of paternalism, and Draft Day is that fantasy's porn film."

Former Green Bay Packers vice president Andrew Brandt criticized Draft Day as "lacking any true depiction of how an NFL team operates leading up to and during the draft", and less realistic about the business of sports than Jerry Maguire and Moneyball. Riley McAtee, writing for The Ringer, noted that the Browns burdened themselves with an additional $7million in annual salary (as stated by a Seahawks executive in the film) to the fictional Mack – a player who would have been lucky to be drafted 15th overall, compounded by the fact that the Browns have also deprived the fictional Callahan of $7million in annual salary that he, not Mack, should be making: McAtee also notes the complete ineptness of the fictional executives of the Seahawks and Jaguars, making bad deal after bad deal, calling the latter the equivalent of "a kid who just wet his pants".

The screenplay was the number one script on the 2012 Black List survey of unproduced screenplays. Writing for WhatCulture, David Hynes listed it as the 10th best script of the 2010s, arguing that it "follows one of the central tenets of screenwriting which is, 'thou shalt make things as hard as possible for your protagonist'". However, he felt that the film's execution failed to deliver on a script that was "as good as it gets."

Domestic Box Office
$28.8 million was grossed domestically (United States and Canada) over 37 weeks. Draft Day grossed around $9.8 million during the film’s opening weekend, representing 34% of the $29.8 million worldwide total, against a budget of $25million. It spent its first two weeks in the Top 10 at the domestic box office, before quickly dropping to the Top 58th nearing the end of its theatrical release cycle.

Domestic Video Sales
Based on total market estimates collected by The Numbers, a film industry statistic site that utilizes data to provide real analytics, Draft Day is estimated to have earned $12.1 million in Domestic Video Sales.

International Box Office
Close to $1 million was earned in international box offices, as Mexico and Venezuela are responsible for over half of these earnings. Even though American football is predominantly popular within the U.S., Vietnam released the movie on June 27, 2014, with just a few ticket sales amassing $878.

Digital Release
Prime Video, Apple TV+, and HBO Max are all streaming platforms for the film, as well as free-with-ads on any Roku streaming service.

Analysis
Regarding sports in the United States, the NFL draft is one of the most celebrated and anticipated cultural phenomena. Steve Persall from the Tampa Bay Times, remains very opinionated about the shortcomings of the film, claiming that “[t]his movie doesn’t even trust the viewers to know where teams play” as each city is introduced with their relative mascot. Other critics dissected and compared the less-than-realistic happenings within the film to their NFL Draft counterparts. For example, most of the info-gathering occurs on the final day of the draft when real NFL Draft decisions take months of research and planning. These details are simple to overlook during the production of a multi-million-dollar movie, as Ian Rapoport is recorded sharing his awareness of the film's inaccuracies stating that "Hollywood does its thing". With the inclusion of an underdeveloped love story amid heavy sports talk, the film strays from capitalizing on die-hard NFL fans before the film is even released.

The film itself is also treated similarly to the NFL Draft, many scenes play like advertisements, with logo after logo being shoved in the viewer’s face, along with loud visuals that “give the viewer the impression they’re watching something truly important.” The NFL Draft provides tens of millions of dollars to first picks, but these large-scale stakes are difficult to convey in a two-hour film.