The NBA and NFL have long since used the draft system to good effect with the best young basketball and American Football stars in the world joining the professional ranks from college sports.
The idea is simple and in theory stops the bigger teams just being able to buy the best players.
The teams that finished at the bottom of their various leagues get the first picks in the draft ensuring they get the best players, who they can in turn trade or sell on.
However, since its inception, there has also been a draft in Major League Soccer but whether it is effective is open to debate.
In a league featuring a host of ageing global stars such as Andrea Pirlo and David Villa it is difficult to see how the draft system running alongside a normal transfer policy can work.
The first few years of the draft saw young American players join the MLS but very few of the top picks in the MLS draft have gone on to play in Europe or bigger leagues and thereby bring in vital revenue to the MLS.
The first five first draft picks in the MLS never went on to play anywhere else but in America. In 2002, Dallas Burn selected Liberian Chris Gbandi as the first round top pick.
After five seasons the left-back became the first top pick to leave the MLS securing a move to Norwegian club FK Haugesund.
And of course, as is the case in other American sports, the top picks bring no guarantee of success, only potential.
Probably the most famous of the top picks in MLS history is Freddy Adu, who was just 14 when he became first pick in the 2004 draft by D.C. United.
His fall from grace has been well documented as the player once dubbed the ‘next Pele’ was last seen taking trials at a host of Polish top flight clubs.
Of the top picks only Maurice Edu can really be deemed a success when he was selected by Toronto FC in 2007.
The midfielder went on to become a mainstay of the USA national team and play for both Rangers and Stoke City.
Yet the only players who really made the grade in Europe after coming out of the MLS draft were not even first picks.
Clint Dempsey was the eighth choice pick in 2004 after Freddy Adu. He went on to be a huge success with both Fulham and Spurs and is arguably the best American footballer of his generation.
Jozy Altidore – who granted didn’t impress in England at Sunderland - can also be considered a success after he was picked up by New York Red Bulls, 17th in the 2006 draft.
A $10m move to Villarreal followed and after proving a hit in Holland with AZ Aikmaar he moved to Sunderland for £10m.
However, a few players aside, the draft system has yet to produce any really successful players and one wonders how long it will last if the MLS is to achieve its goal of becoming a top world league.
