1982 NAFL season (Jayverse)

The 1982 NAFL season was the 23rd Regular Season of the North American Football League.

Before the season, a verdict was handed down against the league in the trial brought by the Los Angeles Chargers and the City of San Diego back in 1980. The jury ruled that the NFL violated antitrust laws when it declined to approve the proposed move by the team from Los Angeles to San Diego. Thus, the league was forced to let the officially renamed San Diego Chargers while the Los Angeles Rams left the Coliseum for Anaheim Stadium in Orange County in 1980.

Major Rule Changes

 * The penalty for incidental grabbing of a facemask that is committed by the defensive team changed from five yards and an automatic first down to only five yards with no automatic first down.
 * The penalties for illegally kicking, batting, or punching the ball changed from 15 yards to 10 yards.
 * The league discontinued the 1979 numbering system for officials, with officials numbered separately by position, and reverted to the original system where each NFL official was assigned a random number regardless of position. Officials who were in the league in 1978 were allowed to reclaim their old number or switch to a number used by a 1978 official who had since retired or was not in use in 1978; officials hired beginning in 1979 then picked from remaining numbers based upon seniority. Also the officials' position was now abbreviated on the back of the uniform instead of being spelled out in full.
 * This was the first season that the NFL began having the sack as an official statistic.
 * For the first time all Sunday afternoon games began in one of two windows: 1:00 p.m. ET/noon CT for early games, or 4:00 p.m. ET/1:00 p.m. PT for late games. From 1970-81, most games began at 1 p.m. local time regardless of the home team (except in Denver, where the Broncos kicked off at 2 p.m. MT). An exception to this rule was made for the Baltimore Colts, who were forced to begin no earlier than 2 p.m. Eastern due to a Baltimore ordinance, since repealed, which prohibited sporting events from beginning prior to that hour on Sundays.

The Draft
The Montreal Alouettes chose Less Browne (CB) from Colorado State as the First Pick in the Draft, Other Selections were chosen are


 * Minnesota Vikings draft Darrin Nelson (RB - Stanford)
 * Edmonton Eskimos draft Rod Connop (C - Wilfrid Laurier)
 * Calgary Stampeders draft Greg Peterson (CB - BYU)
 * Boston Patriots draft Andre Tippett (LB - Iowa)
 * Winnipeg Blue Bombers draft Stan Mikawos (DT - Boston College)
 * Detroit Lions draft Jimmy Williams (LB - Nebraska)
 * Halifax Schooners draft Marcus Allen (RB - USC)
 * Miami Dolphins draft Roy Foster (G - USC)
 * Chicago Bears draft Jim McMahon (QB - BYU)
 * British Columbia Cardinals - Luis Sharpe (T - UCLA)
 * Atlanta Falcons draft Gerald Riggs (RB - Arizona State)
 * Sacramento Raiders draft Jack Squirek (LB - Illinois)
 * Birmingham Vulcans draft Mike Merriweather (LB - Pacific)
 * Cleveland Browns draft Chip Banks (LB - USC)
 * Memphis Southmen draft Joe Nash (DT - Boston College)
 * Pittsburgh Steelers draft Walter Abercrombie (RB - Baylor)
 * Toronto Argonauts draft Geoff Townsend (WR - Boston College)
 * Washington Redskins draft Vernon Dean (FS - San Diego State)
 * Las Vegas Gamblers draft Jeff Bryant (DE - Clemson)
 * New York Jets draft Bob Crable (LB - Notre Dame)
 * Philadelphia Eagles draft Mike Quick (WR - North Carolina State)
 * Seattle Jets draft Norm Johnson (K - UCLA)
 * New York Giants draft Joe Morris (RB - Syracuse)
 * Green Bay Packers draft Ron Hallstrom (G - Iowa)
 * Denver Broncos draft Gerald Willhite (RB - San Jose State)
 * Ottawa Northmen draft Mark Seale (DT - Richmond)
 * Hamilton Tiger-Cats draft Karl Yli-Renko (T - Cincinnati)
 * Houston Oilers draft Mike Munchak (G - Penn State)
 * Baltimore Colts draft Johnie Cooks (LB - Mississippi State)
 * Montreal Alouettes draft Luc Tousignant (QB - Iowa)
 * San Francisco 49ers draft Renaldo Nehemiah (WR - Maryland)
 * Edmonton Eskimos draft Nereo Bolzon (LB - South Carolina)
 * Boston Patriots draft Kenneth Sims (DE - Texas)
 * Miami Dolphins draft Mark Duper (WR - Northwestern State (LA)
 * Chicago Bears draft Dennis Gentry (WR - Baylor)