Every year at the Lowsman Banquet, the capstone event of Irrelevant Week in Newport Beach, the first fans of the NFL draft’s final pick make bold predictions for his future. Endorsement deals, Pro Bowl selections, Super Bowl appearances and MVPs.
Most of the time, these predictions for “Mr. Irrelevant” go unfulfilled. But when the San Francisco 49ers are led into the Super Bowl on Sunday in Las Vegas by starting quarterback Brock Purdy, the last selection of the 2022 draft, a half-century-old mission statement will be fulfilled.
“This is like our dream,” said Melanie Fitch, the CEO of Irrelevant Week. “We’ve been waiting 48 years for Santa Claus to come down the chimney and all of a sudden there’s presents there. So we’re excited. He’s there and he has a chance to win the Super Bowl.”
Irrelevant Week was the brainchild of Fitch’s father, Paul Salata, a 10th-round pick by the 49ers in 1951.
Salata was not the final pick in his draft, but he frequently attended the event following his playing days. He saw what a big deal was made for the No. 1 pick, but how little excitement was reserved for the end of the draft.
“My dad always thought that if you make a team, you should be treated as special as anyone else on the team,” Fitch said. “By the time they got to the last-round guys, nobody cared and nobody’s awake and nobody’s anything.”
Salata wanted to honor the last player like the first. He approached then-NFL commissioner Pete Rozelle with the idea of bringing the last pick out to Newport Beach and showing him a good time. Rozelle agreed enthusiastically and the tradition began in 1976 with receiver Kelvin Kirk, the first “Mr. Irrelevant”.
“Dad wasn’t really a marketing guy, and he said, ‘It’s irrelevant that he’s picked last, so this is Mr. Irrelevant.’ He really should have said, ‘It’s Mr. Relevant,’” Fitch said. “We’ve had to climb that ladder with explaining that since 1976.”
The…
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