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Congratulations. You have made it to the NFL. Take that handshake out of here and hug your new employer. Seriously, bigger is better.

Such is life for NFL commissioner Roger Goodell and first-round draft picks, at least since 2010, when a 300-pound defensive end named Gerald McCoy grabbed the league’s top executive with his 33-inch arms.

Overseeing his third draft as commissioner that year, Goodell greeted Sam Bradford and Ndamukong Suh, the top picks, with a traditional handshake. The next pick had other plans. After being selected third overall by Tampa Bay, the newly minted Buccaneer startled everyone by rejecting the commissioner’s outstretched hand in lieu of a long, emotional bear hug.

McCoy described the incident to ESPN’s Doug Williams.

“When I was hugging him, he said, like, ‘You’re crushing me right now’ and he kind of gasped for air like I was squeezing the life out of him, which I was,” McCoy added. “I was just excited.”

Naturally, Trent Williams, the fourth choice in that year’s draft, would not leave the platform without giving his own hug, and thus began a tradition. With the exception of 2020, when the NFL had a virtual draft due to the Covid-19 outbreak, first-round picks have received hugs from Goodell since then.

However, things haven’t always gone neatly, since players frequently get carried away. In 2015, defensive tackle Danny Shelton hoisted a scared Goodell three feet off the ground, as current players have routinely done, and Christian Wilkins of the Dolphins nearly shattered the man’s shoulder in 2019.

It’s all in good fun, of course, and interactions like Sheldon and Wilkins’ have helped elevate the draft to meme-worthy status. Goodell’s draft day hugs are now considered a rite of passage. So, how many athletes can expect a hug in the 2024 NFL Draft? Not as many as you believe.

According to Pro Football Talk, only 13 prospects have accepted invitations to this year’s draft in Detroit. Players like Georgia tight end Brock Bowers, Michigan’s