rights to Bobby Layne

Summary: Pittsburgh traded Bobby Layne's draft rights to Chicago for rights to Ray Evans, a move that aged disastrously once Layne became a Hall of Fame quarterback. Analysis: Arguably the single worst asset-management decision in Steelers history — trading away a future Hall of Fame quarterback for a player who never appeared in an NFL game, then having to reacquire Layne years later at massive cost. The draft-rights context matters, but it does not rescue Pittsburgh's side of the ledger.