West Virginia quarterback Garrett Greene (6) runs from Memphis defensive back Kobee Minor during the first half of the Frisco Bowl NCAA college football game Tuesday, Dec. 17, 2024, in Frisco, Texas. (AP Photo/LM Otero)
Melanie Salata Fitch, right, announces Memphis’ Kobee Minor as the final pick by New England Patriots the during the third day of the NFL football draft, Saturday, April 26, 2025, in Green Bay, Wis. (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson)
New England Patriots cornerback Kobee Minor (19) during an NFL football practice, Monday, June 9, 2025, in Foxborough, Mass. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)
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West Virginia quarterback Garrett Greene (6) runs from Memphis defensive back Kobee Minor during the first half of the Frisco Bowl NCAA college football game Tuesday, Dec. 17, 2024, in Frisco, Texas. (AP Photo/LM Otero)
Fifty years ago Paul Salata had this idea of doing something nice for someone for no reason.
That someone would be the last player picked in the NFL Draft.
This week, a tradition born 50 years ago continues with Irrelevant Week, a days-long party celebrating Kobee Minor, a defensive back from the University of Memphis who was the 257th, and final, pick of this year’s NFL Draft.
It all starts Thursday with the “Kickoff with Kobee!” for the latest “Mr. Irrelevant” at the Balboa Yacht Club. The centerpiece of the party is the Irrelevant Week Banquet at Balboa Bay Resort on Friday evening. Lakers play-by-play broadcaster and radio sports show host John Ireland is the master of ceremonies.
At the banquet, Minor will get some advice from former NFL players, including past Mr. Irrelevant honorees. They poke some fun at him, too. Minor will receive The Lowsman Trophy, a parody of The Heisman Trophy that looks very much like The Heisman Trophy except the player on the Lowsman is dropping the football and has a shocked look on his face.
There is much more, including the traditional surfing lesson that this time happens on Saturday morning at 30th street in Newport Beach.
Irrelevant Week founder Salata played football at USC and in the NFL as a receiver and acted in several movies. He also was a fine baseball player, and lettered on USC’s first College World Series championship team in 1948.
Salata did well in the construction field, notably as a sewer contractor. Longtime Los Angeles Times and Orange County Register sports columnist John Hall referred to his friend Salata as “The Sewer King.” Salata died on Oct. 16, 2021, one day before his 95th birthday.
His daughter Melanie Fitch has been involved in Irrelevant Week from the beginning and took charge of it many years ago. She, along with husband Ed and daughters Alix and Marie, annually take the podium at the NFL Draft to announce the 257th pick.
She is simultaneously astonished and grateful that there is a 50th Mr. Irrelevant.
“When dad thought of it, I don’t think he thought about the longevity of it back in 1976,” Fitch said. “It was just, ‘Hey, let’s do this again,’ and then it started to become a real event.”
The motto “doing something nice for no reason” was immediately adopted as Irrelevant Week philosophy and remains the spirit of the project.
“We try to celebrate the underdog,” Fitch said. “We treat the last player picked like he was the first player picked.”
Putting together Irrelevant Week gets started in January when the order of the NFL Draft is revealed. Fitch starts working with the team that holds the final draft slot to find out when that final draftee will be available for Irrelevant Week.
Irrelevant Week has a hectic schedule. There can be sudden adjustments that Fitch and her team handle with grace and a smile.
Irrelevant Week always assists charities. The Orange County Youth Sports Foundation is the main beneficiary. The OCYSF, since 1971, has helped fund sports programs for county kids and has awarded more than $1 million in scholarships to county high school athletes.
For a long time, when the NFL Draft had more than its current seven rounds, Mr. Irrelevant was the longest of longshots to earn a place on his NFL team’s roster.
The first Mr. Irrelevant was Kelvin Kirk, a wide receiver at Dayton whom the Pittsburgh Steelers took in the 17th round with the ‘76 draft’s 487th and final pick (That 1976 draft was a very good one – among the players selected in ‘76 were five future Hall of Famers including offensive lineman Jackie Slater, taken by the Rams in the third round).
Many Mr. Irrelevant players have done well. San Francisco 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy was Mr. Irrelevant 2022. Three others have been on their teams’ Super Bowl rosters.
With this being the 50th Irrelevant Week, 22 past Mr. Irrelevant honorees will attend The Lowsman Banquet (Purdy has previous commitments, so he is unable to be there). Tae Crowder, Mr. Irrelevant 2020, missed out on Irrelevant Week because of the pandemic shutdown. He finally will get in on the party this week.
A few tickets for the Irrelevant Week Banquet were available as of Tuesday morning. All proceeds benefit the Orange County Youth Sports Foundation. MrIrrevant.org has the details.