Baltimore sent tight end Ron Mayo to San Diego on July 29,…
Baltimore sent tight end Ron Mayo to San Diego on July 29, 1975, and received a sixth-round selection in the 1976 draft. Chargers club records consistently identify the compensation as a sixth-round pick, resolving the earlier round uncertainty. Mayo did not appear in a regular-season game for San Diego, while the exact player ultimately produced by Baltimore’s pick remains unidentified, leaving little demonstrated value on either side.
Indianapolis Colts Received
- pick 1976 sixth round pick (selection not identified)
Los Angeles Chargers Received
- player Ron Mayo (a)
Trade Analysis
The Documented Exchange
Chargers club records provide a consistent account of the transaction. San Diego acquired tight end Ron Mayo from Baltimore on July 29, 1975, and sent the Colts a sixth-round selection in the 1976 draft. The same sixth-round description appears in multiple Chargers media guides across different eras. That repeated club documentation is enough to settle the principal uncertainty surrounding the exchange: the compensation was a sixth-rounder, not a seventh-rounder.
What San Diego Received
Mayo arrived as a young tight end who had already spent time with Houston and Baltimore. His career record, however, does not show a regular-season appearance for the Chargers. Pro Football Reference lists his NFL playing seasons with Houston in 1973 and Baltimore in 1974, totaling 22 games, with no San Diego season afterward. Contemporary roster material also places him in San Diego’s 1975 transaction stream without evidence that he delivered regular-season production. The Chargers therefore received a player but no demonstrated game value from the acquisition.
What Baltimore Received
Baltimore obtained a 1976 sixth-round draft choice. The trade record establishes the round, but the surviving material available for this entry does not identify the exact selection with enough confidence to attach a player outcome to it. That limits how aggressively the Colts can be credited. A sixth-round asset had genuine optional value, yet an unknown downstream selection cannot be treated as proven NFL production. The safest football assessment is to recognize the pick without inventing a result that the record does not establish.
Final Verdict
The historical terms are now clear enough to publish confidently: Mayo went to San Diego on July 29, 1975, for Baltimore’s receipt of a 1976 sixth-round choice. The realized football outcome remains sparse. Mayo did not play a regular-season game for the Chargers, and Baltimore’s specific pick result is not identified here. With no defensible evidence of meaningful on-field gain for either club, an Even Trade verdict and C grades on both sides best fit the record. Confidence is high in the transaction terms even though the downstream pick identity remains unknown.