---
slug: "trade-value-chart"
title: Trade Value Chart
depth_tier: entry
side: UNIVERSAL
category: "Draft & Scouting"
source_id: "DFT-0042"
created: 2026-04-14
updated: 2026-04-19
canonical: https://learningfootball.xyz/terms/trade-value-chart
---
# Trade Value Chart

## Short Definition

A numerical system assigning point values to every draft pick—used to evaluate trade fairness when teams exchange picks of different rounds and years.

## Definition

A trade value chart is a numerical system that assigns point values to every draft pick across all seven rounds, enabling teams to evaluate whether a proposed trade is fair, favorable, or unfavorable. The original chart—created by former Dallas Cowboys head coach Jimmy Johnson in the 1990s—assigned the first overall pick a value of 3,000 points and scaled downward through every subsequent selection. Most teams use some version of this chart or a modernized equivalent.

The chart creates a common language for trade negotiation. When one team proposes trading the 12th pick for the 22nd pick and a third-round selection, both sides can immediately calculate whether the math is roughly equivalent or whether one side is paying a premium. Paying above chart value signals desperation or extraordinary conviction about a specific player; receiving above chart value signals leverage.

Modern analytics have produced alternative charts that weight later picks more heavily than the original Johnson chart, which critics argue undervalues mid-round selections. Teams increasingly use proprietary versions calibrated to their own historical draft outcomes rather than the public industry standard.

## Example

"They moved up from 14 to 6. The chart says that costs a first and a third. They gave a first, a second, and a third. They paid above chart to guarantee their guy. The team trading down got surplus value. Trade value charts tell you who won the negotiation."

## Common Confusion

A trade value chart and a trade offer are different things. The chart assigns numerical values to picks as a reference baseline. An actual trade involves negotiation that may deviate from chart value—teams routinely accept below-chart returns for immediate need, or demand above-chart value for premium picks. The chart is the starting point, not the outcome.

## Related

- trade-up
- trade-down
- draft-capital
- on-the-clock
- compensatory-pick

---
Source: https://learningfootball.xyz/terms/trade-value-chart